Arrows and Apples
by Nimsul
Summary: "Why? Because I believe in second chances. Ok, so, fiftieth chances – whatever. I also know how it feels to have nothing and no one left to run to. When you've fallen that far the only way out is to claw your way back up, and just knowing someone cares makes all the difference. I wouldn't expect you to understand." - Full summary inside!
1. No More Second Chances

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing aside from a few original characters. No money is being made from this.

**Full Summary: **Robin Sheffield found herself in an unholy mess when she took a job working for Tony Stark as a last resort. Fate finds her stuck with playing chaperone for a certain god of Mischief forced to make amends for his crimes. It's the last thing in the world she wanted, or needed. She doesn't make it easy for him, and like hell if he's going to let her get away with that. Shenanigans ensue and awkward sexual tension follows. Will Loki learn his lesson in time to save both Asgard and Midgard from destruction? And will Robin survive being forced to face her own less than stellar past?

Meanwhile Bruce is working to find a way to control his transformations into the hulk. Tony silently supports him every step of the way - even if he keeps his work a closely guarded secret. They both have their secrets, of course. Little by little, the walls and insecurities start to crumble and they never saw it coming. Though if you asked them, they'd blame Loki. It's always his fault anyway.

**Pairings:** Tony /Pepper (past), Tony /Bruce, Loki/OC, Clint/Natasha (implied)

**Warnings:** Sexual situations: possibly light bondage (IDK yet), and implied non-con/rape (past), violence, m/m slash, swearing, angst and spoilers for The Avengers, Iron Man and Thor Movies.

Also, on a lighter note, most likely disgusting amounts of fluff, humor, pranks, shenanigans and awkward sexual tension.

**Notes:** Trying my best to keep this canon appropriate and Sue-free. No one likes Sues. Robin is in fact VERY loosely based on a good friend of mine IRL (who is betaing this and prefers to remain anonymous). Basically this mess is our baby. If you notice any typos let me know, we're not perfect. (Though damn if we don't try.)

This is entirely movieverse and set some time after the end of Thor 2, but assuming Loki didn't "die" in Svartalfheim and returned to Asgard with Thor instead. Will also probably have nerdy real life mythology references tossed in here. And yeah, this whole thing is a concept that's been done to death, but there's a really awesome plot brewing so please give it a fighting chance! /Shameless begging for reviews. Really, I need them. I want to be a better writer and it helps a lot. :3

* * *

**Arrows and Apples**

* * *

**Chapter One: No more Second Chances**

* * *

"In light of recent events, in memory of your mother's wishes, and due in part to Thor's adamant protesting of putting you back in your cell… I have decided to offer you one last chance to redeem yourself. Not only that, but also forgiveness for your past transgressions." Odin said in a stern voice leaving no room for argument as he stepped down from his throne that was still in ruins from the dark elves' attack on Asgard. He stood before Loki on equal ground. Looking down upon him from the throne had not worked in the past, so perhaps this would. The king had his hands folded neatly behind his back, with a no-nonsense expression of utter authority firmly etched across his face that was haggard with grief and the weight of Thor's refusal to take the throne. Frigga's death tore at his heart, even if he was too proud and too stoic to show his suffering. His single good eye met Loki's blue ones in a fierce glare that embodied all of his anger and betrayal, and all but dared Loki to defy him. Loki wordlessly glared back, but did not cower or show the slightest sign of intimidation.

"What would you have me do? I fought honorably, by your definition at least, and did not betray Thor. But I did not do it for _you_. Or for Asgard." Loki snapped. _Only for her. For revenge. _He thought bitterly, already losing his patience with Odin. But it wasn't enough. Still he grieved for his mother's death, but like Odin, would not admit it. Thor knew, though. He was probably the only one who truly might understand what Loki was feeling. …Not that he cared to think about that. His eyes darted to the God of Thunder who stood a few paces to the right of his father. He would say that he was keeping quiet out of respect, but Loki knew he just was just trying not to make things any worse for him. It was an odd feeling. '_She wouldn't want us to fight!' _ Thor's grief-stricken words spoken as they journeyed to fight Malekith, swam into his memory. It had not been easy, but they had not fought since. In spite of everything, the old wounds were somehow starting to heal and their trust of one-another was slowly returning. It was an uneasy truce between them, but a truce none the less. And even Loki wouldn't argue that it did not feel like a sturdy step in the right direction. Loki had plenty of time to think about his actions while he stewed in Asgard's prison. True, he still had a skewed, conflicting sense of right and wrong, but regret for his actions was inching its way into his heart as well. Again, something he would rather die than admit aloud – to _anyone_. Least of all Thor and Odin.

"I care not for your reasons." Odin replied. "Only my own. I have no heir as Thor does not desire the Throne. I would give it to you, Loki, but you must be worthy." Loki's eyes widened in shock. Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn't this. Again, his eyes darted to Thor. The big blonde buffoon had the dumbest smile on his face.

"And how am I to prove my worth?" Loki inquired, completely certain that Odin was only doing this for himself and that the Throne would never be his. Odin did not reply immediately, instead, he turned away and lifted the spear Gungnir from where he had left it resting against the side of the ruined throne.

"Like Thor before you, you have much to learn. So you too will be banished to Midgard for a time. Until you understand what it really means to be the king of Asgard. When you are worthy of it, you will be able to wield Gungnir and your powers will be returned to you. Then, you will be able to return to Asgard and I will give you the throne when I feel you are ready." Odin explained, carefully watching Loki for any sign of rebellion. "There will be conditions, though. You will have to make amends for what you did in Midgard and must earn the forgiveness of the people."

"If I refuse?" Loki asked, with a nonchalant shrug.

"Then you will rot in the dungeons until Ragnarok." Odin hissed, squaring his shoulders and narrowing his eye. "I also need not remind you that Frigga is no longer here to protect you. If you should decide to hatch another scheme instead of taking advantage of this far too generous offer, I will not hesitate to have you executed. There is no reason for the wasting of resources keeping you imprisoned." Loki looked to Thor who stared at him pleadingly. Suddenly, Loki was overcome by the strangest feeling of gratitude for Thor. In spite of everything, the idiot still thought he had some good in him. Maybe it _was _time to bury his past. He could not fall any further after all. And Frigga may not have been his real mother, but she had always believed in him. He would do this for her knowing that it was what she would have wanted. Maybe she would even be proud of him if he actually managed to learn something from all this. Loki swallowed his pride and knelt before Odin.

"I accept." He said, his voice shaking very uncharacteristically. He tried to not imagine the sappy smile that was surely adorning Thor's face.

* * *

Robin fidgeted miserably in her none too comfortable (not to mention filthy) vinyl chair in the waiting room of her college's counseling office. Her emerald green eyes darted to the clock constantly. She never was that good at sitting still. Or waiting. Her gaze fell on the open door as she contemplated just making a casual escape. no one would even notice. If there was any place else in the world she could be, she would have been there in a heartbeat. The thing was, her life had gone to the dogs and it had all happened so fast that she had just stopped trying to fight it. She let out a frustrated sigh and ran her fingers through her frizzy mane of copper curls. She had gone from being an honor student to literally failing out of all her classes. Once was a time that her dream of being an archaeologist and scholar of ancient religion had been within her grasp. Now it all might as well have been tossed to the side of the highway all neatly tied up in a black plastic bag, while everything else fell apart around her. The councilors would tell her that she would have to retake all the classes. But she wouldn't. There was no point. She hadn't even paid any of the tuition for the current semester aside from the registration fee. Her grades were too low to keep receiving financial aid and she was flat-out broke.

It had all started when her father died, leaving her to run a dying business. She blamed him, hated him even. He wasn't her real father anyway, just her step-father that tolerated her but never really loved her. Robin and her mother were in debt threefold what they would make in a year. But what was she supposed to do? Robin was out of options and she knew it. All of her so called friends never had time for her when she actually had a day off from running errands, or her father's antique shop. Well, her best friend would have – if he hadn't been killed during that crazy alien attack in New York the year before. So, she didn't even have a social life anymore on top of it all. Her family had also long since been estranged save for one uncle. But Robin didn't know him well either, just that he worked on computer network maintenance for the infamous Stark Industries. She would have given anything to go back in time to be being a teenager. Maybe spending every Saturday in detention for some stupid prank gone wrong had been a pain in the ass, but at least then she still knew how to smile. Yeah, the goldfish in the school swimming pool and fake snakes in the gym lockers had been pretty great. And totally worth the suspension that followed. She felt the slightest tug at the corners of her lips, but it was far from a real smile.

"Robin Sheffield?" A secretary asked, distracting her from her thoughts. Wordlessly she followed.

Two hours and a Burger King kid's meal later (Hey, they had Pokemon toys), Robin finally dragged herself home. As expected, her financial aid was cut. And knowing she would never be able to go back in the foreseeable future, Robin officially dropped out of college. Well, she did have her bachelor's. It could be worse. But it was still disappointing and left a bitter taste in her mouth. As she trudged into her mother's house, Robin felt weighted down and trapped like never before. She was never going to finish college. She was never going to be an archaeologist. She was never going to be _anything. _She would rot in that dusty antique shop for the rest of her life and nothing she ever did would mean anything. She was going die one day and no one would even remember her. She was just another pointless human life, a mere speck of dust, living in the shadows of those far greater than her.

When she hung up the keys to her beloved black Pontiac Grand Am (the only thing that had never let her down), she noticed a few papers and a handwritten note on the kitchen table. Curiously, she took a look. The note was from her mother, of course. She was working two jobs to try and make ends meet. Mary Sheffield was an optometry office manager by day and a convenience store cashier by night. Sometimes, she even worked weekends at the deli her friend owned. Which meant that she and Robin rarely saw each other. But still, her mother was everything to her. She was all Robin had left. She picked up the note:

* * *

Robin,

I decided that we are going to close the shop. We can't pay the rent anymore. I know that you're dropping out of college. We need to fix things somehow. Your uncle Jeff has this job lined up for you, and if all goes well, you'll make more than enough money for both of us and be able to go back to school next year. So call, get it all sorted out, and for the love of God, DON'T fuck it up. This is your LAST chance.

Love from,

Mom

PS – Make sure you don't forget to eat dinner and feed the cat.

* * *

Robin raised her eyebrows and looked at the other paper. It was a casually written letter neatly printed under a Stark Industries letterhead. _Stark Industries_. Did that mean she would have to work in New York City? Probably. Her uncle did. Robin groaned and sat down at the table to read this one. It wasn't that she had anything against New York, it was just all those memories of her friend that had died there. …And the fact that she lived a good three hours from there in rural northern New Jersey. If her mother needed something, she wouldn't be there to help. What was she thinking? Swearing under her breath, Robin read the letter.

* * *

Pepper, Rhodey, Jeff, Happy and that guy from HR (Sorry forgot your name):

Due to construction of Potts Tower and several other steaming piles of bullshit - I mean ongoing personal projects (Avengers stuff), I need a new assistant. Mainly just someone to keep Stark tower in order. You know, manage finances, keep everything tidy, etc. Except for where Bruce remodeled the floor with Loki's face – that stays as a souvenir of "glorious purpose".

So yeah, Pepper's old job. I'd prefer someone outside of the company for reasons I don't want to discuss. If any of you know someone who's up to it, let me know. Must be willing to put up with and/or stroke my ego, sometimes escort one-night stands off the property, and be on call to pick my drunk ass up when Jarvis won't let me drive home after a party at some shady club in Manhattan. (Really should have thought over that protocol a bit more).

Yeah thanks,

Tony

* * *

Robin snorted and shook her head. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad. She already knew how to manage finances from running the business. And if nothing else, it looked like Mr. Stark had a sense of humor. That would be a welcome change of pace. She was sick and tired of being surrounded by people that seemed to think the world would end if they laughed once in a while. It looked like her uncle had scribbled down a phone number at the bottom of the page and instructions to call when she had the chance. She pretty much already had the job if she wanted it, because apparently no one else did. Nervously, she fished her cell phone out of her purse and dialed.

"Yeah? Hello?" A man answered, sounding somewhat harassed.

"Mr. Stark? This is Robin Sheffield, Jeff's niece. I'm calling about the personal assistant job." Robin said nervously and fiddled with the slightly unstitched sleeve hem of her favorite Black Sabbath hoodie that she was wearing.

"Oh! Awesome! I was losing hope anyone would actually want the job, really. Apparently I'm the number one worst person to work for in the world. Or so I'm told. It's all yours, babe. I'll be in New York until Saturday, so come over to Stark tower when you're ready to start. I hate to be so short with you but I'm in the process of being dragged into a torture chamber – I mean a board meeting – so I can't chat right now." Tony replied, and Robin resisted the urge to giggle. Yeah, this couldn't be that bad, right? At least he sounded like someone she would probably get along with.

"Okay, I'll be there tomorrow afternoon." She replied, feeling hopeful for the first time since… well forever.

"Sounds like a date, sweetie. Bye now." Tony said and hung up. _Well, that wasn't so bad, _Robin thought to herself and looked up at the clock. It was just past three in the afternoon. She still had time to kill, and she knew just where she wanted to do that considering she probably wouldn't be leaving New York any time soon after tomorrow.

* * *

Loki paced the length of his cell aimlessly. Odin had insisted on putting him back in there for the time being while he made proper arrangements for Loki's banishment. He was like a caged animal. He wanted out and there was no way out. If there was, he would have found it long before Thor had freed him to travel to Svartalfheim. He peered through the forcefield, trying to see the stairs in hopes of some sign that Thor and Odin were on their way to take him to Heimdall. It was a different cell from last time, though, and all he could see were some dark elf prisoners in the cell across from him. They glared back with distaste as if they somehow knew that he'd had a hand in Malekith's downfall. Loki felt his lips curl into a sneer. It served them right to be rotting in here. What was he thinking? Agreeing to this was stupid, but at least he would be out of this cell. Odin's power was strong, but Loki's knowledge of magic was expansive. He would find some way to regain his powers and take Gungnir – worthy or not. Or, this one time, maybe he could just play by the rules and get what he wanted all along anyway. He would have to decide later, when he knew what it was actually like to be without his magic. Odin couldn't take everything from him, that he knew. He had no power over his Jotun heritage. If nothing else his immortality and likely his ability to manipulate ice would be left intact. Odin also hopefully knew nothing of his possession of the casket of ancient winters, but without his magic he most likely would not be able to use it.

"Loki?" Loki snapped out of his thoughts and all but ran to the front of the cell where Thor was standing with Sif at his side. She was dressed for battle with her long ebony hair tied back in a braid. Curiously he wondered where she was going because surely it wouldn't be with him. Odin wouldn't be that stupid, would he? Loki fought the urge to roll his eyes and comment on how_ happy_ she looked to see him. It was hardly surprising. "Are you ready?" Thor inquired when he did not answer.

"Yes." Loki said simply. "Now let me out of here so I can get this over with."

"You should be grateful for this chance. And you should also know if you decide to betray us again I will - " Sif snarled, shoving Thor aside. Loki regarded her with a nonchalant expression.

"Oh? What? Kill me? Take a number and get in line behind Odin, Thor, the Chitauri and everyone in New York City." Loki replied flippantly, cutting her off mid-sentence.

"I would take this more seriously if I were you, brother." Thor said in his best attempt to sound stern and wise. He too was dressed for battle. Did they expect him to try something so soon?

"I _am _taking this seriously." Loki replied, honestly. Which surprised even him. Thor must have seen the emotion in his face as he smiled and immediately released the force field that kept Loki trapped in the cell. Sif muttered something about Thor being a delusional idiot under her breath and started walking away without them.

"I am glad. Mother would be happy that you want to make amends." Thor said as he led Loki out of the dungeons. Loki chose not to reply. He felt oddly nauseous. He had never been without his powers before. How would he be able to defend himself in a world full of people that hated him? _I should have thought this through, _he complained inwardly. "I asked if I could go with you. But apparently there is something going on in Alfheim that needs fixing so, you will be on your own. But worry not! All will be well and you will be home before you know it!" Thor rambled on as Loki followed him in a silence no less stony than Sif's. Occasionally she turned to watch him out of the corner of her eye as they made their way out of the prison. And that was how the entire trip to the gatehouse went. Thor babbled on about how Loki was going to be just fine and how glad he was to have his brother back, etc. And Sif, she just led the way with every step carefully measured. Her body was tense like a cat waiting to pounce as if she expected Loki to turn on them and make an escape attempt. She did not speak a single word. But then, could he blame her? Before Frigga's death and fighting alongside Thor in Svartalfheim, Loki probably would have flown the coup at the first possible opportunity – even if it was suicide. Not that he saw his current fate as being much better than, if not, suicide.

"Heimdall, we are here!" Thor called out to the gatekeeper. The dark skinned Aesir turned his amber eyes first to the golden god before they fell upon Loki who followed at a distance, his hands still in chains. Loki could almost feel Heimdall judging him, as if his gaze saw through to his very soul. Beside him stood Odin leaning impassively on Gungnir. Odin nodded to Heimdall and jerked his head in the direction of Sif and Thor in an obvious gesture that he wanted them to pass through the Bifrost to Alfheim first. Loki seethed with anger at that. He trusted Thor more than Odin and would have rather had him be there. Apparently sensing this, Thor gave him the sappiest farewell and hugged him tightly enough to nearly smother him. Loki couldn't even shove him off because of the chains. Instead he tried (and failed) to tell himself that this was better than fighting with Thor. Awkwardly, he regained his balance as he watched Sif and Thor disappear into the Bifrost. Apprehensively, he looked to Odin.

"I will send you to a place near New York, but far enough away that hopefully you may find someone willing to help you that does not recognize you, or hate you on principal." Odin explained. "Your magical powers will be removed along with your ability to shape-shift. Due to your Jotun heritage, you will still have your immortality, but not your resilience. You will not be able to die, but you can very easily become injured or ill. You will also not be able to heal yourself with magic, so you would do well to remember that. For all other intents and purposes, you will be mortal."

"I understand." Loki replied dully his face carefully vacant of any emotion. He had mostly already figured it out for himself. Though hearing it aloud made his prospects seem all that much bleaker.

"When you can remove Gungnir from the stone – without trickery, you will be allowed to return. Now, I give you one last chance to refuse this trial. Are you certain you wish to walk this path? There will be no turning back." Odin demanded, his knuckles white from how tightly he gripped Gungnir. Loki looked to Heimdall who still studied him intently. He could tell if he lied, somehow he always knew. But was it still a lie if he himself was unsure of the sincerity of the answer?

"I do not desire death. Nor to rot in a cell until the end times." Loki answered, making eye contact with Heimdall whose expression softened somewhat. Likely, only someone as observant as Loki would have even noticed the slight change in the stoic gatekeeper's face. But strange though it was, it gave him courage. "I will walk this path."

"So be it." Odin replied. "There will be no more second chances." Loki nodded mutely as Odin pressed his hand to his chest and he felt nearly every ounce of his power draining out of him. When it was done he swayed on his feet, the sense of weakness utterly overwhelming him at first. But to his surprise, a firm hand caught him and helped him to regain his balance. Shaken, he looked up at Heimdall who held him lightly by his shoulder.

"Do not disappoint your brother." Heimdall said so that only he could hear him. Loki made to reply in the affirmative, but could not find his voice. Heimdall seemed to understand and released him to open the Bifrost.

"Loki Odinson, I cast you out of Asgard until such a time as you are worthy to return!" Odin shouted and Roughly pushed Loki into the Bifrost. He cried out involuntarily in a combination of entirely unexpected pain from Odin's rough handling and disorientation as the Bifrost swallowed him. Thor had not exaggerated. This was not pleasant in a mortal form. Thank mercy he hadn't eaten that morning or it surely would not have remained in his stomach. A few seconds later, the tell-tale whoosh of Gungnir filled his ears as Odin hurled it into the Bifrost behind him. His last thought before he blacked out was of Frigga and that she would have been proud of him for making this choice.

* * *

High Point State Park. It was the highest point in New Jersey, and the huge stone Obelisk shaped monument at the very top could be seen on the horizon in almost every direction in the surrounding areas in both Pennsylvania and New York state. It was a very well-known local landmark and a busy place for picnics and family outings during the warmer months. For Robin, it was no exception. She had spent countless days there as a child during the summer. As she got older, she even did volunteer work there either keeping the inside of the monument clean, or accepting money from those that wanted to pay to climb the stairs to the top of it. It was probably the reason she was always in such good shape. That was a LOT of stairs and she climbed them at least three times a day when she was working there. It wasn't summer anymore, though. It was late autumn and the park was technically closed. But she had keys, and all the park rangers knew her. No one would be bothered by her poking around if they saw her. Not that she was poking around, really. She was just standing at the base of the behemoth obelisk looking over the edge of the concrete wall surrounding it. She could see nearly all of the rolling hills of Sussex county New Jersey sprawled before her. If she turned either way she would be facing New York or Pennsylvania. Oh, and that over there was the Delaware River. Robin shivered as the chill wind tore across the top of the mountain. It was always windy there, and a little cold even in the summer. Inside the monument, the wind made eerie howling noises. Sometimes Robin could swear someone was trapped inside howling to get out. The whole place just had that weird, haunted vibe and she was especially sensitive to that sort of thing. It did not make her love the old monument any less.

Her worn to death black Sabbath sweatshirt was hardly appropriate for the weather, though. She rubbed her completely numb hands together and stuffed them under her armpits. She refused to leave just yet. Robin felt more at home in this place than anywhere and God only knew when she'd see it again if the whole Tony Stark thing worked out. She laughed quietly to herself. She knew plenty of women who would _kill _to personally work for Stark, yet here she was dreading it. Ironic, much? As she was lost in thought, the sky suddenly darkened. Curiously she looked up. It was the wrong time of the year for thunderstorms. Either way, rule number one to working there during one was get the hell away from the monument and go hang out at the ranger's station. ...Because it got struck by lightning all the time. Being there in a storm was nothing short of dangerous. But before Robin could even react, a tremendous rumble of thunder shook the ground, throwing her off balance.

"Fuck! Really? A thunderstorm? _Now_?" Robin swore as she started to run for cover from the immediate downpour of rain. But just as she started down the stairs that led back down the hill, a huge bolt of lightning struck mere feet behind her on the flat space in front of the door to go inside the monument. She screamed in terror as the force of it sent her flying face-first down the stairs into an awkward heap. Gasping for breath, she pushed herself to her knees. Some bruises, definitely. Her knees and both palms where scraped pretty badly too from the asphalt where she'd landed. Nothing seemed broken or bleeding too much at least. That was pretty damn lucky. She could have been a French fry. Thoroughly shaken, Robin turned to look at where the lightening had struck and nearly passed out from the shock of what she saw.

An odd almost Nordic looking circle design was deeply etched into the concrete. And at its center lay a man. Or maybe it was a women, she couldn't tell. Only that the figure had shoulder length, slightly curly black hair and seemed to be dressed in some kind of black and green leather coat. But that was strange. There hadn't been anyone there but her, right? Awkwardly she tried to flatten her hair that had gone all frizzy and puffy from the electricity in the air.

"Hey! Are you all right? Can you hear me?" Robin called running back up the stairs toward the person, her clothes fast becoming saturated from the downpour. She didn't get a response so she dug her cell phone out and started to dial the number for the local police, but stopped, her breath catching in her throat as when she saw just _who _it was that was lying in the center of the circle. She stared, gaping like a fish at the man that had been all over the news two years ago for orchestrating the alien attack on New York city. The same attack that had claimed the life of her best friend, Sam. "Loki." She breathed, backing up a pace. Nervously she looked at the sky. The storm wasn't letting up. If she left him there, he'd probably get struck by lightning and die. And while he probably deserved it, Robin knew she'd feel like shit if she left him there – no matter who he was. She'd learned a long time ago not to let hatred blind her into making stupid decisions. She did, however pick up her phone and dial a different number – And reached the voicemail box of one Mr. Tony Stark.

"Hi. Mr. Stark. This is Robin Sheffield again. I know you're busy being tortured to death as I speak, but I have a problem and I think it might require some, er, Avengerly intervention. Immediately. Please call me back. Like, yesterday. I'm not kidding." She said quickly and hung up as she ran back up the stairs to Loki. She gasped when she noticed that he was actually awake, breathing heavily and looking up at the sky with a blank look on his face. As Robin knelt down beside him to make sure that he was, in fact, not dying another tremendous crack of thunder tore through the sky. This time she had grabbed Loki's arm and reached out to hold onto the railing near her just in time to keep them both from being sent sprawling again. Loki flinched and tried weakly to turn away, Robin reacted in the total opposite fashion and whipped her head around to see a golden spear drop out of the sky and embed itself in the stone at the base of the monument a few feet from her. She released her grip on Loki and stared open-mouthed at the spear in in horror. God, that would have sucked if it hit one of them. Okay, maybe not if it was Loki. But that still would have been an unholy mess. And, as suddenly as it had started, the storm vanished. Trembling, Robin wiped blood from her scraped hands on her jeans and looked down at Loki with wide eyes.

"Where… am… Who are..." He started to say when he noticed her presence at last and passed out cold.


	2. An Unlikely Alliance

**Notes:** IDK why, but I had a lot of fun writing this chapter for some reason. Thanks for the reviews! Hopefully this one should have less of a run-on sentence issue. (Thanks DragonDaemon93 for pointing that out) I'll see about editing the first chapter a bit later to fix it up.

* * *

**Chapter 2: An Unlikely Alliance**

* * *

"Well, this is awkward." Robin muttered and looked up at the spear lodged in the base of the monument. ...And back down at the unconscious god of Mischief. "If I actually thought I had it in me to kill someone, I would suffocate you with something for what you did in New York. Bastard." She muttered and stood up. Curiously, she walked over to the spear. Against her better judgment, Robin firmly took a hold of it and tried to pull it from the stone. It didn't budge in the slightest. Instead, she lost her footing and fell unceremoniously on her rump. Her bloody scraped palms didn't help much either, and left a smear of read on the cold metal pole. At least it didn't burn her hands off with some kind of alien nuclear radiation. Cursing under her breath, she got up and tried to lift Loki. And _damn_ was he heavy. Must have been all the leather. In the end, she managed to half drag him back down the hill that led to the monument and shoved him roughly in the passenger seat of her car. He neither moved nor made any indication of regaining consciousness. He was breathing, at least. Whether or not that was a good thing was still up for debate. Again, the thought crossed her mind to just leave him there. But she'd no sooner do that than try and kill him. Robin knew full well that it would probably be days before any of the rangers actually bothered to stop by and check on things. Not that robin thought she'd be able to stop him from another attempt at world domination or anything, but hey, she had Tony Stark's phone number. That had to count for something, right?

The sensible thing to do would have just been to call the cops or an ambulance. Or hell, Robin could even have just called the called the Ranger's station and _then _left him there. She would have asked herself what in the bloody hell she was thinking, if she wasn't sure therein was the issue. Obviously she _wasn't _thinking. At best, she was harboring a war criminal. Wonderful. Whatever the case, she left the spear. She couldn't get out of the stone anyway. _What is it, fucking Excalibur? Do I get to be a space Viking queen if I pull it out?, _She thought to herself amusedly. Shaking her head, she buckled Loki's seat-belt and dug through her glove box for the spare keys to the bathrooms in the building she was parked near. She had to clean the grit out of the scrapes on her hands or the hour drive home was going to be balls. It was going to be balls anyway, who was she kidding? She had an insane (albeit unconscious) alien God in her car.

Luckily Robin found the keys and the water hadn't been shut off for the winter. She wasn't so lucky in the soap department, though. Not that she should be surprised. The bathrooms here were gross on a good day. She hissed through gritted teeth as she scrubbed dirt out of the scrapes with hot water and her fingernails. At times like this, she really had to wonder whether or not she was just a masochist. Frankly, cleaning had only made it hurt more. And she had a textured rubber steering wheel cover. Joy. Hoping it might help, she wrapped her hands generously in toilet paper for lack of anything else. Grudgingly, she climbed into the car and started it. Loki hadn't budged an inch. If nothing else, she wouldn't have to explain it to her mother. She was working an overnight shift and most likely should not be home until after ten the next morning. Robin, of course, fully intended to be en route to Stark Tower by then.

"And so help me God if Stark doesn't call me back before then, I'm taking you to him. Then you're his problem." Robin added aloud to the seemingly comatose God. His only reply was a slight hitch in his breathing. "Yeah whatever." She groused and turned the music on. If AC DC blaring through the speakers didn't wake him up, nothing would. And it didn't.

* * *

Tony hated board meetings. Loathed might have been a better word for it. Where the hell was Pepper when he needed her? She was better at this crap than he was, anyway. Boredly, he looked up at the clock over the conference room door. It was almost five and they were_ still_ sitting here harping about total nonsense that hardly required his presence. Or even Pepper's for that matter. He scratched at his goatee, stifling a yawn. There wasn't even anything in the room that could entertain him. Everything was plain white and grey. All clean edges, even the glass council table. It was almost clinical. He did at least get to smile knowingly when he noticed the woman next to him was less than entertained as well. She was hiding her phone under the table edge playing Angry Birds. Tony followed suit, though hopefully he could find something better to play than that nonsense. Or badly made porn to make fun of. Or anything, really. Instead, he saw that he had a missed call from the girl he was apparently hiring to be his manager for Stark tower. Well, for however long it lasted. Pepper was the only one that had so far managed to put up with his drama for any length of time. The thing that bothered Tony was that Jarvis had marked it as urgent. Which he was programmed only to do with calls from or to do with the Avengers. Or Fury if he tried to call more than five times in Succession. Either way, it was an excellent excuse to get some air.

Quietly, Tony excused himself. He stopped to get a coffee from a vending machine in the hall on the way. It was the worst coffee he'd ever had, but at least it was caffeinated. He'd have to see about getting a regular barista. At least for when he was stuck there like today. Once in the vacant CEO's office, he switched on Pepper's PC and pulled his phone back out. Pepper was in Seattle overseeing construction for a new production plant, so with any luck no one would bother him in her office. In spite of everything, he really missed being in a relationship with her. But that was never meant to be. She was just too good for him, really. That train of thought never ended well, and usually with too much scotch to be able to tell his head from his ass. So, he dashed it from his mind and listened to Robin's voicemail.

"'Avengerly intervention'? What the hell?" He complained in confusion and returned the call. The phone rang a good ten times before she finally answered.

"Hi, sorry! Driving." She said, as if it explained everything. Maybe it did. Not everyone had fancy voice commands that actually _work. _Wait, was that AC DC in the background? Wow, he liked her already.

"So. Avengerly intervention?" Tony asked, cradling the phone on his shoulder while he brought up the internet on Pepper's PC. He kind of doubted Amazon was going to have the parts he needed to fix the Heartbreaker's broken flight stabilizer, but what the hell. Might as well give it a try. …While he pretended not to think of how he'd broken said flight stabilizer. Yeah, Jarvis had new strict orders not to let him go drinking while in one of his suits.

"Yeah, uh... So… I have Loki in my car. I mean he's unconscious, but…" Robin began, sounding very much like a kid that just got caught with their Gameboy in math class. Tony had been taking a sip of his cheap vending machine coffee, and the entire mouthful wound up sprayed on the monitor in front of him. "You know, crazy space Viking, tried to enslave earth – that Loki." She continued when Tony didn't answer.

"Okay, woah. Back up a minute here. Why the fuck do you have Loki in your car? Please tell me this is just a hilarious 'I'm totally drunk' prank call and this just happens to be the last number you dialed, because –" Tony began, panicking. He had _just _starting getting over the anxiety attacks and the nightmares about the attack. Not to mention the mess with Aldrich Killian and Extremis that followed. He did _not_ need this.

"I'm not drunk." Robin spat indignantly cutting him off. "I don't know why, okay! I was at High Point Monument and he just… I don't know – fell out of the freaking sky!"

"And you put him in your car?" Tony asked, incredulously. "Wait, where is High Point Monument?" Robin told him where High Point was and completely ignored his other question. His first thought was that she was a younger version of Pepper, with a healthy touch of his total lack of judgment and impulsiveness. Something about that made him instantly like her.

"Oh, by the way, there's this epic gold spear stuck in the bottom of the monument there. I couldn't pull it out. It kinda fell out of the sky after him." Robin explained. Tony just shook his head and told her to hang on while he had Jarvis run a few scans on the area. He brought the results up on the PC after he unceremoniously wiped the coffee off with a scarf that Pepper had left there. He'd have to buy her a new one. Ugh.

"Damn…" Tony muttered, stroking his goatee as he examined the results. Sure as anything, the energy readings were similar to when Thor decided to come visit and Jarvis confirmed it as a match. But that was odd. Loki hadn't come through the Bifrost last time. Wouldn't he have needed what's-his-face's permission that guarded the gate? The scanner also picked up another unknown energy signature in the vicinity. He had Jarvis hack a nearby satellite and get him a visual. And there was the 'epic spear' that Robin mentioned. _Jesus. What the hell?_ "Okay, listen and do as I say. We don't have a lot of time before SHIELD picks up these energy readings and they all start crawling all over this like a bunch of angry piss ants." Tony explained.

"SHIELD?" Robin asked. "Anyway, yeah I'm listening."

"The meeting tomorrow afternoon? Nope, get down here now – like, yesterday to use your words. Bring Loki to Stark Tower. I'll meet you there. DO NOT let anyone see him. Hopefully the little time-out room I built for the hulk can keep him contained." Tony explained. "You'll get to me faster than I can get to you. Well, without anyone noticing anything is out of the ordinary."

"I hope I have enough gas for that." Robin replied. "Right. I do. Lucky, that."

"Good. ETA?" Tony asked, now pacing the office. He had to get a hold of Pepper and get her on this before SHIELD got a whiff of it. He had no idea why, but something about it all reeked of the time Thor had been sent to earth and stripped of his powers. After all, how the hell would a twenty something year old girl manage to knock out the same God of mischief that had bodily thrown him through a bullet-proof window? …Never mind that traveling via the Bifrost shouldn't have harmed him in any way. And if that was the case, well, Tony would rub his nose in it good and hard before he turned him over to SHIELD. Fury wasn't the one who nearly killed himself throwing a nuke into outer space and then suffered post-traumatic stress induced panic attacks ever since. …Not that Tony actually told anyone about all that. Except Pepper, of course. Even then it was only because of the nightmares.

"About three hours if traffic doesn't suck." Robin Replied. "But it probably will. It always does."

"Got that right. Did Reindeer Games say anything to you?" Tony added.

"Huh? You mean Loki? No, just what sounded like a 'Where the shit am I and who in the hell are you?'" She replied. "…And there's a cop. _Goddammit_. Bye." She said and hung up. _Do not let her get pulled over, _tony silently prayed as he dialed Pepper's emergency number.

"Peps, we have a code Loki. I need you and Rhodey to get High Point State park in New Jersey secured somehow and keep SHIELD out of there." He said in one breath before she even got the chance to answer.

"Wait – what?" She cried. "How do you expect me to do that? Tony, I - " She said.

"No time, just do it." Tony said and hung up. Forget the board meeting, he had some fine-tuning to do on Bruce's little playroom. Actually, he should probably call Bruce. The other guy was the only one who managed to kick Loki's ass pretty good the last time.

* * *

The cop didn't follow her. Robin breathed a sigh of relief. Her relief was short lived, however. Half a minute after she hung up on Stark, she heard a quiet moan from the seat next to her, followed by the sound of Loki's coat moving across the black leather seat. She turned the music down and bit her lip. _Don't panic, don't panic, don't –_ Loki coughed and Robin quickly glanced away from the road long enough to see his eyelids finally flutter open. He rubbed his eyes blearily and looked around slowly. He looked as panicky as she felt. That couldn't be a good thing. She had to think fast.

"Um, hi." She said, deciding it was probably safest to play stupid. "So, uh. You like fell out of the sky and stuff. Yeah, are you hurt? You look like shit." _Wow, very eloquent. No wonder you never get laid, _ she mentally berated herself. He did not answer, just stared out the window at the busy highway in rush hour. _All right then. _Silence was better than death threats, or worse. For a few very tense moments, neither said anything until Loki finally spoke up.

"Where are you taking me?" He asked, he sounded tired more than anything. Robin quickly realized that he probably didn't have the strength to actually do much. Thank God for small blessings.

"New York." She replied. There was no point in lying. He was awake now, so he'd figure it out sooner or later. Of course Loki would remember what New York looked like. "I work for someone there, you can stay at my place." It wasn't entirely a lie, but robin was nothing if not a good liar.

"That may not be the best course of action." Loki said quietly. "Or the safest for either of us."

"Probably not. It's a rough town and you look like you're a few months way too early for ComiCon. " Robin said in an agreeable tone. "So what's your story? It's not every day some guy drops out of the sky on top of High Point mountain." Again, playing stupid. It was probably best if he thought of her as an ally. He seemed to be scrutinizing her. She kept her eyes pointedly on the road and her expression carefully blank. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him relax a bit. _Tricking the God of lies. Yeah, I've got this. I'm awesome, _she praised herself mentally.

"It is a long story." He said offhandedly.

"We have a long drive." She replied nonchalantly. The more information she could get out of him, the better. After several more moments of potent silence, Loki finally started his tale. Well, he said nothing about New York. But he spoke of Asgard and Thor. Of fighting the Dark elves, and of attempting to destroy some sort of magic he called the Aether. In the end it could not be destroyed and Odin sought once again to seal it away. He didn't know where. It was probably for the better, Loki seemed not to trust himself not to try and harness its power for his own use. Apparently if mishandled it could destroy him. He went on, with some hesitation, to speak of his banishment and the removal of his powers. He did not mention his crimes specifically - only that he needed to "make amends" for something he had done here on earth. If he did he would be worthy of the spear, which he called Gungnir, and the throne of Asgard. He glossed over everything, leaving out many details. Robin wished she could have gotten more out of him about the Aether before he found out where she was taking him - while she still had some amount of his trust. She was willing to bet it had something to do with Thor showing up in London and the whole mess that happened there a few months ago. No one really knew what happened, but the characters that Thor fought sure had looked like these dark elves that Loki described. Well, from what they showed on the news anyway. Whatever the case, Stark would probably want to know about this epic space magic, if he didn't already.

Loki didn't know _why _ he was telling her all of this. But it did truly seem that the strange woman was really helping him. If she was lying, or leading him into a trap – he could not tell. He was too exhausted to properly assess the situation. Either way, he didn't have much choice. She was small, but looked strong and certainly had an air of confidence. She wasn't his first choice of an ally by any means, but he had to have _someone _on his side. Especially now that he knew what being "mortal" felt like. He could not feel the faintest trace of his magic – not even the powers connected to his Jotun form. Vulnerable was the only word for it. Immortal or not, he would be a dead man if Fury or SHIELD got ahold of him in this state. After he said all that he wished to, they fell silent. The sun had long since set, and they now sat at a standstill as they waited to get into what the mortal called the Lincoln tunnel.

Robin actually had a reason for that, even though she preferred the GW bridge. If Loki wanted to try anything before they got into the city, she doubted he'd do it where the Hudson bay would come crashing down on top of him. While they were waiting, she pulled out her phone and texted Stark. "At Lincoln tunnel entrance. Should be there in about 20 if the traffic starts moving. He's awake but co-operating. Don't answer." She typed quickly and stuffed the phone in the pocket on the driver's side door where she was sure Loki couldn't reach it. He didn't seem interested anyway, he just watched the driver in the car next to them picking his nose as he read a Playboy. He made a snide comment about mortals and their lack of refinement. Robin snorted and shook her head, at least they could agree on something.

"So, you're really the Loki from all the Norse legends… That's awesome. Hey, you know, can I ask you something? You see, I'm actually a student of ancient religion so, I bet there's loads of things you could tell me about it that no book possibly could." Robin asked, desperate to break the silence. Deprived of his magic or not, she didn't want Loki to turn on her before Stark could (hopefully) save her ass. She was useless in a fight and she knew it. She had to keep him talking. He made a small sound of consent. "Right so… According to the stories, you're Sleipnir's mother. Did you really turn yourself into a mare and give birth to an eight legged horse? I mean, I'm just curious…" Robin bit her tongue, hard. _Really? You asked that?_ To her surprise, Loki laughed. It wasn't much of a laugh, but he seemed to barely have enough energy to keep himself upright in the seat.

"No. I _could, _in theory, shape shift into a female body and bear a child. If I had my powers returned. I cannot shape shift like this. I doubt it would have eight legs, however. I am also not particularly inclined to try it. Bearing children, I mean. I do enjoy being a woman every now and then." Loki replied, thoughtfully. Robin didn't quite have a reply for that, but thank God he wasn't offended. Seeing as that went well, she decided to press her luck a bit.

"Did you tie your testicles to goat's beard at Skadi's wedding?" She asked, giggling. He turned to look at her, his eyebrows arched curiously.

"Yes. I was heavily intoxicated, much to my chagrin. I also once forced Thor to dress as a woman and pretend to be Freya. I sort of promised her hand in marriage to a frost giant against her will. Thor did not get found out until they made it to the bedchamber." Loki explained in the most serious tone he could muster. But the twitch of his lips did not escape unnoticed by Robin. Clearly this was a fond memory for him, though probably not for the 'Goddess' of thunder.

"Oh my… _wow_." Robin whispered.

"Have you any further questions regarding my tastes in debauchery?" Loki asked, a slight hint of humor in his voice.

"Uh, no." _Totally do not want to know. _Robin added silently, wondering if it was indeed possible for the mind to vomit. Thor in drag was not a pretty image, going by what she saw of him on the internet. They said nothing more for the rest of the trip. Though, Loki did look a little green as they passed through the tunnel. Obviously he wasn't very keen on the idea of being inside a narrow tube with a few miles of water on top of them. It was as she pulled up to Stark tower to find Iron Man waiting by the entrance to the parking garage, that the color vanished from his face.

* * *

Volunteering his time in the state-run clinic that looked after the homeless was thankless, and sometimes grueling work. But for Dr. Bruce Banner, it was a necessary catharsis that kept his head clear and his emotions in order. It also had the added benefit of at least making him feel that somehow he was slowly atoning for all the messes the other guy made. He didn't quite know if any of that applied to today, though. It started with a little Indian girl that was so sick she couldn't even lift her head to look at him. She reminded him painfully of the girl that Nastasha Romanov had gotten to trick him into meeting with her when he first joined up with the Avengers. Then there was the old man with the horribly infected wound in his foot. It would have to be amputated and Bruce sincerely doubted the state would want to pay for it. Basically, it had just been one of _those _days. And it sure didn't get any better when he saw the missed call and text from Tony Stark. That was never good. He ignored the voicemail and read the text. "There's a puny god due to arrive at my tower in a few hours. I could use some help, big guy." Bruce felt the blood drain from his face. He could only be referring to one thing. Loki. "I expect a better explanation when I get there in 15." He replied, typing furiously, and literally ran out of the office.

"Avenger's business." He said in passing when the secretary glared at him as he bolted through the packed waiting room. She always got angry when he left in the middle of a shift. Bruce would be willing to bet the oddly pidgeonish looking woman could give the hulk a lesson in anger management. …Or lack thereof.

When Bruce arrived at Stark Tower, Jarvis cordially informed him that "Mr. Stark is eagerly awaiting your arrival in the workshop". Quickly, he found his way to the elevator and pressed the button for the lab a little more forcefully than necessary. And there was stark – bent over the mess of a workbench soldering what looked like a pair of handcuffs.

"I'm here." Bruce said quietly and hung his somewhat shabby lab coat on the back of Tony's vacant chair. "Handcuffs?" He inquired, trying to mask his curiosity. Wouldn't it be better to just turn Loki over to SHIELD rather than deal with him themselves? Not that Bruce had any love for SHIELD, but they'd come for Loki the second they sniffed him out. The idea of being an obstacle was not something he wanted to entertain. Especially not concerning Loki, and Fury's bitter disappointment at not being the one to reprimand him.

"Sort of. Going by some of Jarvis's readings from the mess he made of my tower here, I'm trying to figure out a way to bind Loki's hocus pocus. I mean, magic isn't a thing, right? It _has_ to be some kind of science. We just don't understand it yet." Tony explained. "Ok, so this is all probably useless and not going to do shit, but it's worth a try."

"Right. So, do you care to explain _why _Loki isn't facing Asgardian justice like Thor planned?" Bruce asked impatiently while he stealthily observed Tony's work on the magic-binding handcuffs. He had to admit, it was a pretty impressive concept. He wouldn't tell Tony that, however. Bruce didn't do ego stroking, particularly not when it was Stark. He was, after all, standing in the basement of a giant shrine wholly devoted to the man's ego. He listened intently while Tony told him about his new assistant, and her run-in with their least favorite bag of crazy cats in New Jersey. Bruce asked Jarvis to show him the energy readings and studied them with interest. It was definitely the same signature as the Bifrost points when Thor visited. He didn't know what to make of the spear, but he had a sneaking suspicion that like Mjolnir when Thor had been cast out, it wouldn't be able to be removed from where it had landed. Tony agreed when he voiced his opinion.

"That's what I thought. I mean, maybe he's here because Odin is naïve enough to think he can mend his ways. Who knows, Point Break thinks his little brother's good half is still in there somewhere." Tony replied, testing a joint on the cuffs. It snapped in his hands. He made no comment but picked up the soldering gun again. Silver was a great conductor, but not very strong. It was a good thing this was just a prototype. He'd have to see if a titanium or steel alloy could hold the necessary electrical current. "I'm thinking we need to hear him out before we turn him over to Fury. His 'silver tongue' didn't work too well on me last time and if all else fails, the other guy can fling him around a bit. I've been meaning to redecorate the third floor lounge after Thor dropped his God hammer of overcompensation on my marble tiles. Loki's pretty face can help with the removal of the old ones if you catch my meaning." Bruce felt a tug at the corners of his lips and relaxed by a fraction. The situation couldn't be that dire yet if Stark was having a jab at Thor's masculinity.

"All right. You know how I feel about him, but I actually think I might trust Fury less. For all we know, giving him to SHIELD could start a war with Asgard if he has him tortured or something." Bruce answered after a time. "I also don't think I can imagine a girl, or really anyone who doesn't have a green rage monster living inside of them being able to incapacitate him. What we will do, though? I mean if Loki _is _here to learn a lesson?"

"Well, we can let him try, I guess. I know that's probably not the answer you want. But you have to remember, if you add up all the deaths and pain caused by the weapons I've made… Loki doesn't look like such a bad guy next to me. And I got a second chance, because I had people who believed in me and gave me that chance. If Loki wants to turn his life around, who I am to stop him? I'm a lot of things I'm not proud of, but a hypocrite isn't one of them." Tony told Bruce, his tone serious. "But if he puts so much as his left pinky toe out of line he's getting wrapped up with a pink bow and shipped back to his daddy. Most likely first class with tracking to Asgard, because honestly he's not worth paying overnight shipping for. The same also obviously applies if he isn't here to make nice." He added with a hint of his usual sarcasm.

"You know, I don't mind. I got a second chance too. But we should keep this between us and Thor if he shows up. I doubt the others will be willing to forgive him, no matter how much he tries – if he tries. SHIELD will have to be told eventually, though. You know how Fury gets when you keep secrets from him." Bruce replied, still contemplating the energy signatures from the Bifrost point.

"Yeah, I get suspicious and hack into everything he loves. Then I steal his tech." Tony said with a bark of laughter. Bruce chuckled and shook his head. He liked Tony, even if he annoyed the living hell out of most people. The thing was, Tony wasn't afraid of him. He didn't mince his words and make it a point to try not to piss Bruce off. Nor did he regard him as a lab rat that should be researched. He could be himself around Tony, and their mutual love of science had made them fast friends.

"Sir, Miss Sheffield will be arriving in approximately two minutes. I am also detecting the presence of Loki Laufeyson, currently marked as hostile, but his usual energy signature is different from the records. He is still a dangerous criminal according to the SHIELD database. Extreme caution is advised." Jarvis' voice suddenly alerted them.

"Jarvis, mark Bambi as a civilian for now. Open the parking garage and get the Mark 42 ready, just in case. Bruce, follow me but don't go green if you don't have to. Collateral damage and all that." Bruce wordlessly threw his lab coat back on and grabbed the handgun he knew Tony kept hidden under the work bench as he waited for him to suit up. Then the two of them went outside and waited until a late model black Grand Am pulled up. Tony nodded to Bruce and he motioned for the little redhead driving the car to pull into the garage. Loki sat in the passenger seat. Bruce could see that his eyes were wide and his face was paler than usual. He clutched the pistol in his pocket tightly, praying he wouldn't need it. …Or the other guy's help.


	3. Shadows of the Past

**Notes:** Whew. This a little longer than intended. Thanks for reading so far! :3

* * *

**Chapter 3: Shadows of the Past**

* * *

Loki wanted to just _die_. He had not only been fooled by a mortal, but hand delivered to two of his worst enemies on a silver platter. The worst part? His body still hadn't recovered from the initial shock of his magic being taken from him. He doubted he could even stand, let alone escape. He turned to stare at her in mindless disbelief. This infuriating mortal women who wouldn't last half a second in a fight with him, had outwitted him. The_ god_ of lies and deceit. He tried to tell himself that it was because of his lack of magic. But he never could lie to himself. His mind was just fine and he knew it. She'd gotten one over on him and he hadn't even seen it coming. If it weren't for the fact that he was so weak, he would have tried to wring her dainty little neck. He had to settle for a menacing, if not haunted glare instead.

"So, I bet you're pretty pissed right now. Sorry. You might want to tell them about the whole banishment thing, maybe they'll be inclined to mercy or something. Because I'm sure as hell not." Robin said hurriedly as she pulled into the garage and the large doors closed behind her. "And before you kill me, if I'd left you there no one would have found your unconscious butt for like, a week at least."

"You will pay for this. You have no idea what you have done." Loki hissed. She shrugged and got out of the car. Oh yes, she would pay. What was it the Other had said to him… That if he failed he would know something as sweet as pain? Yes, that was it. He was going to make her life a living hell. Consequences be damned. He could still make his amends and reclaim his birthright. So what if he angered one mortal woman? Odin hadn't said he needed _all_ of Midgard to forgive him for his crimes.

"For what it matters, sorry. I actually do feel pretty bad. You're kind of pathetic without your powers." She said and turned to Banner and Stark who were running toward her. Loki did not respond. Oh, so _that_ was how she wanted play it? Fine. The game just got interesting. She actually considered herself a threat. How adorable.

"Traffic must have really sucked that was almost four hours, sweetheart." Tony said, looking at Loki who was still in the car. His previous shocked expression had been replaced with a seething anger. He looked like a cornered pit-bull ready to bite off someone's hand. His disheveled appearance wasn't helping much, either.

"Sorry, the tunnel was a nightmare. But I thought Loki would be less likely to try and pull any shit underneath the Hudson bay." Robin replied, but somewhat sheepishly. What_ had_ she done? Maybe he did want to make amends but was too conceited to admit it. It didn't matter. This had to be the right choice. If he was planning another attack, the Avengers would be able to stop him. For all she knew, he had played her as well as she'd played him.

"That was a good idea. You must think well under pressure." Bruce said and nodded his head to Robin who made a small sound of agreement but her mind was elsewhere. This didn't escape him and he wondered for a moment if she regretted bringing Loki to Stark Tower.

"Well, Rock of Ages, how have you been? Got tired of being some space Viking barbarian's girlfriend in jail, eh?" Tony said, pulling Loki's door open and leaning on the side of the car casually. It was an act. He had the repulsors at the ready and the unibeam was fully charged. Loki was toast if he made any sudden moves. Hopefully he wouldn't have to buy Robin a new car. He actually liked this one. She was one tough little lady and it really suited her. Well, it definitely needed some TLC, but whatever. "You aren't going to make me drag your Diva ass out of there, are you? Because let me tell you, that won't end well."

"I cannot walk." Loki replied through gritted teeth, barely suppressing his rage. His cheeks were tinted pink with shame. "Odin removed all of my powers save for my immortality. Until I can rest, you will have to carry me." He continued when Tony didn't reply. What Tony did do was take off his faceplate and nearly fall over laughing. Poetic justice indeed. He just needed to figure out what kind of juicy meat Odin had strung over Loki's head and maybe he could keep SHIELD out of this yet. Maybe. Pepper still hadn't called him back. Tony was the only one laughing, though, and it echoed obnoxiously through the garage. Bruce looked a little annoyed and Robin feigned disinterest. She looked pissed, though. Her face was red under the light dusting of freckles. After a moment he coughed and composed himself. If the hulk did any redecorating, it wasn't going to be with his newly rebuilt Mark 42 prehensile suit.

"Alright, Princess." Tony said mockingly and replaced his faceplate before he reached into the car to help Loki to his feet. That didn't work out all that great either, because his legs wouldn't support his weight. He really _was_ going to have to carry him. He might as well make it awkward and ridiculous. He picked Loki up with ease and carried him bridal-style to the elevator. Bruce shook his head, suppressing a grin. Loki buried his face in his hands in disgust and swore to all the nine realms the things he was going to do to Tony when he got his magic back. Some of it was pretty creative, really. Robin wasn't sure if she should be impressed or hate Loki more than she already did.

"…Your hands. Are you hurt? Did Loki do this to you?" Bruce asked Robin, once he noticed her hands wrapped in the bloody toilet paper. "I'm Dr. Bruce Banner by the way. The uh… the Hulk." Robin tilted her head and gave him an odd, questioning sort of look. Absently she cast her eyes to the ground and picked at the soiled paper. She obviously wasn't that bothered by the injury. Something about her unnerved him. But then, maybe it should have. If she managed to mislead Loki, she must be damn good at that innocent young woman act.

"No, not really. And it wasn't Loki. I got a little banged up when lightning struck like three feet from me and blew me into a parking lot face-first. I've had better days. Apparently this Heimdall guy has shitty aim." She replied, eventually. "…I hate him, _really_ hate him. Loki, I mean."

"Everyone around here hates him. You'll fit in just fine." Bruce said with a shrug.

"If he was serious about what he said about making amends, he's going to have bring back the dead to make it up to me. Nothing can replace what he took from me." Bruce regarded her with a mixture of interest and pity. He'd heard that story enough times. But Robin must have been a better person than the other 101 people he'd heard say something similar. They probably would have kicked Loki while he was down. She might just have wound up saving him, intentional or not. But Loki making amends? That hadn't been mentioned as of yet.

"Hey ladies, are you coming or what?" Tony called from the other side of the room. Robin turned away wordlessly and went to follow Stark. Bruce put the handgun away back under the workbench and caught up as well. It didn't look like he'd be needing it tonight.

Robin thought the holding cell Tony put Loki in looked kind of like an elaborate rectangular fish aquarium. The walls, ceiling and floor were made of two foot thick bullet-proof glass and the doors had some kind of air lock system. It was completely empty inside. Tony put Loki down in a corner and propped him up against a wall. Loki said nothing, but he had an expression on his face that he was desperately trying to hide. …An expression that Robin knew all too well. He was on the verge of tears, and terrified out of his mind. But, he did a good job of hiding it. Robin was just crazy good at reading people. Except Bruce, and that made her a little nervous. He seemed decent enough, though. He'd even offered to bandage her hands properly. It was a good thing he didn't see her knees. They were worse. She had, of course refused.

It wasn't that Robin didn't trust him or was afraid, she just didn't want to be helped. Robin hated to be seen as weak. If she couldn't do something herself, she either wouldn't do it or would scheme a way to do it anyway. Even this. She could take care of her own injuries. She didn't even have a mechanic – she worked on her own car and when something was broken in her mother's house, she fixed it. Anything was possible with the internet and a few power tools. Robin liked to pretend that she had always been that way – but it was a lie. It had started after Sam was killed. By Loki. He died protecting her. Through all the nightmares, and all the breakdowns, one thing stood out in her mind. She truly believed she could have saved him if she had been stronger. Maybe it wasn't really Loki she blamed, but herself. …Still, she had to project that hatred onto something, and Loki was going to find out that she hated him probably as much as he hated Odin. If not more so. Sam was like a brother to her.

They grew up together, went to school together and spent almost every day_ together_. They rarely fought, and when they did it was over something stupid that would be forgiven almost immediately. They never thought of dating. They were friends – best friends. And when he died, it was like everything in Robin's life that meant something had vanished. It was like she stopped living altogether. Stopped trying. Why bother reaching for your dreams when everything you did was for someone else who wasn't around to see it anymore? It was Sam that wanted to be an archaeologist. But he had a learning disability, and college proved to be too difficult for him. Instead, he became an artist, while Robin took up his books. She did it for him, and he was endlessly grateful to be a part of it. …While she lived her dream of being an artist vicariously through Sam's beautiful abstract painting. She hadn't even noticed her hands had balled into fists until she felt the sharp sting of the raw skin. She took several steadying breaths and stared through the glass at Loki. She was going to make him pay for what he had taken from her. It wasn't just her friend – it was her whole life and all of the meaning in it.

"All right, Reindeer Games. Let's hear your story." Tony demanded after he locked Loki in the glass chamber and he, Bruce and Robin were all safely on the outside.

"You already know it." He snapped. "But the part that matters is this: I want to make amends." It was true. Whatever it meant, and his motivation was secondary. All the knowledge in the world wasn't going to help him trick his way out of this situation. He hated to admit it, but the truth was hard to swallow while he was busy choking on his pride. Also, the mindless hatred that he saw in the woman's eyes was starting to unnerve him. Great. Wasn't he supposedly been in a place where he wouldn't run across someone who knew and despised him?

"Why should we believe that? What is your incentive?" Bruce asked, quietly. Something about him surprised Robin. He could blend into his surroundings like he wasn't even there. He was just that quiet guy with the kind of awkward shy smile. But when he spoke, no matter how quietly, all eyes were on him. He reminded her of an older version of Sam and she fought the burning in her eyes as fiercely as possible. Loki didn't answer. He sighed theatrically and threw his head back against the wall. And laughed.

"He will get the throne of Asgard if he succeeds." Robin muttered. The laughter died on his lips, but he still said nothing. Tony and Bruce looked at her in surprise. So, she'd gotten him to talk after all, Tony assessed. Damn, she's _good._

"Well, when you decide to talk, tell Jarvis and we'll come running." Tony said flippantly and motioned for them to leave. Bruce yawned and left. He knew Loki would crack. He didn't _want _to be there this time. Robin spared him one last scathing glance and followed the two men upstairs. "So, Pizza?" Tony asked the other two. Bruce shrugged nonchalantly.

"No. I just want to sleep. Sorry, I'm not usually this bitchy." Robin replied. Tony heaved a sigh and flipped back the faceplate of his suit.

"So who'd he kill?" He inquired, leaning against the wall and effectively blocking Robin's escape. "I know that look. I've been on the receiving end of it myself enough times. ...Back when I still made weapons." Bruce glared at him in warning. He ignored him. Tony knew it was a harsh question, and the lighthearted tone he voiced it with was hardly appropriate. But something told him that if he tried to get all sentimental with Robin it would probably be worse.

"Everything." Robin replied simply. "And I don't want to talk about it. Not right now, and probably not ever. I hope you have somewhere I could stay? If I'm going to be working here, anyway. I can't afford an apartment. …Or a hotel."

"Yup, seventh floor is all yours, Freckles." Tony said and got out of her way. Judging by the look Bruce was giving him, pressing the subject was a bad idea. Tony wouldn't purposely avoid making him angry, but he didn't want to push his luck, either. Bets were on him getting his ass kicked pretty bad if the Hulk wanted to teach him proper manners. He was going to have to get Robin to open up, though. Even if just to know what Loki had told her about his reasons for being on earth.

"Right, thanks. See you in the morning." She said in a carefully even voice full of angry undertones and left the two men on their own. "And don't ever call me 'Freckles' again, or Loki will be the least of your problems." She said more quietly and mostly to herself once she was out of earshot. The only person who was ever allowed to call her 'Freckles' was Sam. Either way, she didn't even look at her rooms when she got off the elevator. She found the bedroom, and collapsed face-down on the bed. Where she cried herself to sleep thinking about how she was going to survive living every day reminded of when Sam was killed. She would be reminded, of course. The monster responsible for it all was in a glass holding cell a few floors down.

* * *

It was a bright, sunny day. You know, one of those perfect days that should be immortalized in a children's picture book or something. Robin and Sam sat together on a bench in central park sharing an Italian sub while they chatted about their future. People rushed by as always, but for them it was a moment of calm. Robin had just gotten her Bachelor's in Archaeology and was starting work on her Master's degree. Sam's freelance art career was doing great, and he was making enough money auctioning his paintings to move out of his parent's place and had just rented his own apartment in Manhattan.

"It's exciting, isn't?" He said, all smiles with a dreamy shine in his brown eyes. "I can't believe my work is on display in the Met!" Robin smiled knowingly and ruffled his shaggy brunette hair in a sisterly sort of way. He was like a big child, really. He lived one day at a time and went where fate took him. It was a wonder they got along all, for that reason alone. Sam thought abstractly, and couldn't follow a schedule to save his life. Robin, on the other hand, was all about details and meticulous planning. Sometimes it would appear that she acted on impulse because of how well she functioned under pressure, but her every action was planned. She embodied logic, reason and Order, while Sam floated wherever the winds guided him. But it could just have been that they simply completed each other – opposites attracting and all that.

"I can believe it." Robin said after a chewing a bite of the sandwich. "Your art is incredible. Give it a couple years to get your name out there and you'll put Van Gogh to shame." Sam chuckled and shook his head.

"And I'll be watching you on the History channel. You'll have your own show all about how messed up mythology is. Like, the first episode can about Set and Horus. …And the Lettuce incident. Or Loki and that hilarious affair with the stallion." Sam replied, laughing. Robin laughed along. It was true, she had a special love for the really messed up stories.

"That had better be mayo on that sandwich." She said and picked at the lettuce skeptically. "I wouldn't want to get pregnant." Sam nearly fell off the bench in hysterics, while profusely promising it was indeed just mayonnaise.

"I'm going to miss you when you back to school. Make sure you call." He said, more seriously. Robin opened her mouth to promise that she would do just that, when an explosion rocked the ground. "What was that?" Sam cried, jumping to his feet.

"Up there, look!" Robin said and pointed to Stark Tower in the distance. What she saw then would stick in her mind for the rest of her life. There was a sort of… hole in the sky and things were coming out of it. Alien things in ships shaped like some kind of flying fish. Sam followed her gaze and his mouth fell open in shock.

"I've heard that Tony Stark is a little nuts, but what the hell is that?" He said in exasperation. Robin shook her head mutely and just kept staring at the hole in the sky. The next thing she knew, she was falling face-first into the dirt when one of the smaller ships crashed near them. And then it was all a blur. Sam was shouting that they needed to get away. He'd grabbed ahold of her arm and pulled her along as they tried to get as far from what was turning into a full-scale warzone out of a sci-fi movie as they could. Robin remembered falling again, stumbling over a piece of debris that looked like a broken car door. She tried to get to her feet, but she had twisted her ankle. Sam was nowhere to be seen and people were running every which way in a panic.

"Sam!" She cried. "Where are you?! SAM!" But she didn't see him, just one some kind of Alien hovercraft floating nearby. Someone human in appearance, unlike the others, was riding on it. He was tall and lean with smooth black hair. His clothes were fashioned of black and green leather with golden armor pieces and a ridiculous matching golden horned helmet. In his hand he held a strange glowing staff. His eyes met with Robin's. Transfixed, she stumbled awkwardly to her feet.

"KNEEL!" He shouted and pointed the staff at her. Frozen in terror, she didn't move. But he did. He fired some kind of magical energy from the staff, but it didn't hit Robin, it hit Sam who drove in front of her and pushed her to the ground at the same time. The man flew away laughing. Robin crawled to Sam's prone form and tried to shake him awake.

"SAM!" She screamed, but he didn't answer. He couldn't. And she knew it when she saw his eyes – wide and glassy staring vacantly at the sky. There was no longer any life in them, and no pulse that she could feel. "No! You can't! Don't leave me! DON'T LEAVE ME!"

"DON'T LEAVE ME!" robin screamed and fell off the edge of her bed, hard. Panting, she took stock of her surroundings. Not a decimated street in New York. Her bedroom in Stark Tower. Stark tower, of all places for her to end up... Shaking, she sat up and leaned back against the bed. It was dark and cool. Ribbons of moonlight fell across the furnishings through the gaps in the blinds across the window that was really more like an entire wall. Taking several deep, steadying breaths robin got to her feet. She looked at the bed. There was no way she was going back to sleep. What time was it, though? She pulled her cellphone out of her pocket, but the battery had gone dead.

"It is Three twenty-five AM. The weather is partly cloudy and cool with a thirty-seven percent chance of precipitation." Came the sound of a computerized voice with a rather posh British accent. Jarvis, she realized. It must be. Her uncle Jeff had talked about Stark's incredible AI that basically did 99% of her job for her. "Getting more rest is strongly advised, miss. Your heart rate is above normal and you seem to be suffering symptoms similar to an anxiety attack."

"Jarvis? Is Loki awake?" She asked, looking at the ceiling with a frown while she tried to figure out where the speakers must be hidden.

"He is, but it is not recommended to visit him alone. Mr. Laufeyson is ranked amongst the top five most dangerous criminals in the world." Jarvis replied. Robin ignored that and decided to pay him a visit anyway, which earned her a surprisingly sassy comment about taking her life into her own hands. She had to admit, for being a computer, that was really something.

* * *

It never failed, did it? No matter what Loki did, it always ended in a mess. And this time, he hadn't even been misbehaving. Well, not _yet _anyway. No matter. He could work out a way to escape later. Right now, he needed to rest. But rest did not come easy. His mind was a trainwreck of scattered thoughts that would not settle down. Like how he was going to make amends at all? But it was the mortal woman that he couldn't get out his head. He'd seen people look at him with hatred in their eyes more than enough times. But her… Well, that was something else entirely. What could he have done to make someone he'd never even crossed paths with hate him so much? It would have been one thing if he'd slaughtered her family in the attack or something, but that wouldn't make sense. She lived too far away. …Or maybe she didn't really live there. She did apparently work for Stark, after all. It was useless thinking about it. He doubted he could possibly understand, anyway. What did matter was that he had been tricked by her, and the God of mischief did not take that lightly. Oh no, he would get revenge for that. Nothing too bad, considering he wanted to survive long enough to acquire the throne of Asgard. But that didn't mean he had to play nice either…

"Loki." Damn it all. And there she was. Standing on the other side of the glass looking disheveled and ungodly angry. He contemplated antagonizing her, but thought better of it. Maybe later. He didn't have the energy.

"Yes, mortal? What does my savior require?" He asked, snidely. She sat down on the floor on the other side of the glass near him and simply studied him with a heated stare before speaking.

"Call me Robin. I don't like being addressed like I'm below you or something. Because I'm not. Do you regret what you did at all?" She inquired, finally. He considered his words very carefully.

"I regret only that I did not think of a better way to realize my plans that would have preferably involved less death. You see, I intended to fail all along, but I was not entirely in control of my own mind at that time." Loki explained. "I only wanted to get away from the Chitauri - and to stop them from getting the Tesseract. Though, being the God of lies, no one would believe me anyway." He hated being honest. Why was he telling her this? What difference did it make?

"Tesseract? Chitauri? What are you talking about?" Robin demanded, cocking her head to the side as she tried to make sense of it all. Loki frowned.

"You hate me – do not even try to deny it I can see that as plain as day – yet you do not know of what I speak?" He said, confused. "As for the Chitauri, they are the beings that attacked New York under my leadership. The Tesseract… Ask Stark. It is a thing I once desired for myself, but now I see that like the Aether I mentioned before, it is something that _no one_ should possess."

"Okay. what is it? A weapon?" Robin mused.

"It can be, but it is most useful as either an infinite clean energy source or to create portals to other realms. It was how I first came to this… To Midgard." Loki explained. "So what is it? What makes you hate me so much?"

"Have you ever lost anyone you loved, Loki? Someone that was your whole world, and without them you wonder sometimes if you're even living anymore or just an empty body following some kind of pre-programed role?" Robin asked.

"Yes." The answer seemed to surprise her, but he easily read doubt in her eyes. "Malekith, that I spoke of before. He murdered my mother. …Adopted mother. But my mother all the same. It was why Thor trusted me to fight alongside him, and the only reason for that trust. Because he knew that my envy of him was far outweighed by my thirst for vengeance." It was agonizing to speak of it. At that moment, he wished Thor hadn't put an end to Malekith. That somehow he could have squeezed the life out of him with his bare hands and spit in his face. Frigga wouldn't have wanted that, he knew, but it would have felt like there had been some kind of closure for him.

"And what if you couldn't get revenge? What if the person responsible for that was sitting in the same room as you, and there wasn't a damn thing you could do? You talk about making amends. You don't really want to, or see the need to. This isn't about bettering yourself; it's because you want the throne, nothing else matters." For a moment, words failed him. She had read him like a damned book. But what was her point? "I'm going to tell you my story, and then I want to hear yours. All of it. No lies, no exaggerating, and no leaving things out. I want to know what makes you think you had the right to do what you did." And she went on tell her story, about Sam and what he was to her. About how she spent the years since the attack in a state of constant grieving. She told him about the hours with councilors, trying to tell her to move on – but what was there worth moving on for? He was her reason for everything. Her life no longer _meant _anything.

In spite of himself, and everything he believed in, the trickster felt a cold ache in his heart. Regret. He knew all too well what she was going through. And it was his fault. And thinking back, he remembered her now. How small she looked, yet still she refused to kneel. He remembered how he laughed when he killed the male mortal that had protected her, and laughed even more so when he heard her crying for him not to leave her. But what did it matter now? It was done, and over with. And it was then that the gravity of his situation came crashing down on him. How many others did he hurt like this? Thinking they could forgive him was naïve and stupid. How was he supposed to make amends for ruining lives? In their position, he would never forget, and certainly not forgive. How could he expect them to? He also understood something else: Frigga wanted him to be the man he once was, not a murderer. He had been angry because he had no closure after her death, but if he could do this… If he could learn from his mistakes and right his wrongs (somehow), maybe he would be able to be at peace with himself and her memory. …And have the throne of Asgard as an added benefit.

He told Robin everything, just as she asked with not a single lie. He started with his childhood, of how he had been taken by Odin as a child left to die. Loki did not believe that Odin took him because he actually cared – he was a political tool and nothing more. Even now, he needed an heir and he was out of options. No matter what, Odin would _never _be his father. He had a hard time talking about when he discovered his true heritage, and about how much hated – _still _hated – himself because he was born nothing but a monster. It didn't have to be that way, though. Maybe his life was a lie, but no one was there for him when he needed them most. He told her what happened after he fell from the Bifrost, about how the Chitauri tortured him into submission. That was something he told no one. Not Odin, nor Thor or even Frigga. Then he spoke of how he agreed to their plans if only just to make the pain stop. And, in his broken mind, find some way to warn Midgard about what was _really_ out there – regardless of his actual intentions. The intentions weren't really all that bad considering his track record, but he could have come up with a better plan if he weren't such an emotional mess at the time.

"Nothing gave me the right to do what I did, and I am not making excuses." Loki said after he finished his tale and they sat in a stony silence. "I will not ask for your forgiveness, I neither need it, nor expect you to give it. Nor do I deserve it."

"I doubt I will ever give you that. But a chance to try for others' forgiveness, that I can probably manage." She said and left without another word. He watched her leave, feeling oddly hollow. …Like a child that had just gotten caught bullying someone, and received a scolding so bad that he just wanted to die if it would somehow make up for it. Maybe it was some kind of poetic Justice that Frigga had been killed. He had taken so many lives and broken so many families as result. It was long past due to be his turn. …And so the only person who'd ever really cared about him was taken from him. Maybe not, he still had Thor – as much as it killed him to think of the oaf in that way.

* * *

As Robin climbed the stairs, deciding to forgo the elevator in favor of stretching her legs, she heard hushed voices on the fourth floor landing. Curiously, she pressed her ear to the door to listen.

"I'm telling you he can't escape. He's got no magic and that tank's built for something much bigger, greener and uglier than he is." She heard Tony say. "Besides, he wants to make nice, so what's the fuss?" Robin couldn't hear the reply, so she opened the door a bit, careful to be silent.

"…Unnecessary risks. Do you realize, Stark, that you are harboring one of the most dangerous criminals in history? I could send a team down there right this minute without a warrant and you and Banner could be facing execution without trial. That is how serious this is. And how should we know if we can trust him? He is the god of _lies_. And Thor never asked about anything like this." The speaker sounded like a male – African American possibly. The voice seemed to be coming from a monitor near where tony was sitting on a couch. Banner was near him, with his hands clenched into fists and his jaw set tight. He was _pissed_. That explained the weird green hue on his skin. …Probably _not_ a reflection from the monitor. She realized. That couldn't be good.

"Thor is probably busy. The thing in London was a real mess, apparently." Tony said with a shrug. "Yeah, harboring a criminal, fine. But what the hell, Fury? How many people died because of me? Spoiler alert – it's a LOT more than Loki and his buddies killed. But I get all the second chances I want, and none for him?"

"Right, and who is going to take responsibility for him when we have a repeat – or worse of the Tesseract incident? And I don't think I need to explain what would happen to someone who was responsible for that. It'd be treason and terrorism at the best." The person on the monitor, Fury, answered.

"Be reasonable. We don't know the whole story yet we just need – " Bruce began but was cut off mid-sentence by Fury.

"I am NOT going to be reasonable! That son of a bitch is a terrorist and a mass murderer! So who's it gonna be? Who is going to take responsibility for a deceitful, heartless bastard son of some alien monster? Anyone?" Fury spat. There was only silence. Tony looked like he wanted to reach through the screen and grab Fury by the throat, but he kept his tongue in check. Bruce was doing all he could not to Hulk smash his way to wherever this Fury was and introduce his face to the nearest solid surface. Robin then made the first split-second, true impulse decision of her life. Maybe she was channeling Sam's spirit then. It wouldn't be surprising. Sam saw the good in everyone and everything. Probably he could even see the good in Loki. If she could help him fix his mess, Sam would probably rather see that than her finding some way to kill him. She took a deep breath and stepped forward into the room.

"I will. I will take responsibility for Loki and see that he not only makes amends but learns something from his mistakes." She said, walking out of the shadows and into the room. Bruce's jaw dropped and Tony stared at her utter disbelief. "Just promise me, Mr. Stark, that if this all blows up in my face, you'll make sure my mother is taken care of when I'm gone."

* * *

Just to explain Sam and Robin's conversation about Set and Egyptian mythology:

Horus, the son of Isis, was nearly raped by Set. Isis was so angry about this, that she pretty much decided to royally screw Set over. She had Horus masturbate into a jar and then dumped his semen on Set's lettuce garden. Set ate it, and got pregnant. Nice, right? Ew. No thanks.


	4. Mischief Managed?

**Notes:** Thanks for the reviews so far! And poor Robin is in over her head and won't even know what hit her. :3 But it IS Loki we're talking about here.

I am officially having too much fun writing this.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Mischief… Managed?**

* * *

In the stunned silence that followed Robin's outburst, all she could hear was the pounding of her own heart. _Did I say that? Did I _really_ just say that?, _she asked herself, starting to panic. Gathering her wits, she went to stand next to Tony where she could get a proper look at the man on the monitor. Fury was one mean looking dude. And that wasn't even touching the eye patch or the edges of the scars she could see peeking out from underneath it. Everything about him looked downright tough and rugged. Immediately, Robin felt like she stepped in the wrong pile of dog shit when she started an argument with this guy.

"And who the hell are you?" Fury asked. Robin had to admit, if looks could kill, the glare he was giving her certainly would have done the job.

"This is Robin Sheffield. She's the household and financial manager for Stark Tower. Kind of like Pepper's old job. " Tony supplied and shrugged. "She doesn't know anything about SHIELD, though. So yeah, Freckles, meet Nick Fury. Fury, Freckles. Okay, we're good here. By the way, Little Bird, SHIELD is a sort of intelligence agency. Technically, they own the Avengers in a way, but, we couldn't trust them as far as we could throw them." Robin managed to choke down her resentment of Tony's choice in nicknames. She'd get him back for that later.

"Right. I'm going to ignore that for now, Stark. So, Miss Sheffield, why would you want to take responsibility for Loki? You do understand who he is what he's done, don't you?" Fury inquired, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, I do know. And, why? Because I believe in second chances. Ok, so, fiftieth chances – whatever. I also know how it feels to have nothing and no one left to run to. When you've fallen that far the only way out is to claw your way back up, and just knowing someone cares makes all the difference. I wouldn't expect you to understand." Robin replied a little more passionately than entirely necessary. "And for what it matters, he took everything from me when he attacked with his little Alien buddies. It's not like I really have anything left to lose." She agreed with Stark. Fury didn't seem to be the trustworthy type. And not for nothing, but Loki had been more honest with her than he had so far. Well, she thought so at least. Robin was pretty good at knowing when she was being lied to, but she wasn't a polygraph machine by any means.

"That may be, but what makes you think that I have any intention of allowing you to handle this, Miss Sheffield?" Fury retorted.

"Because if the king of Asgard actually did send him to make amends, you're taking one hell of a risk locking him up in a cell somewhere. I mean, I don't have to be a politician to know when the shit's gonna hit the fan." Robin explained, doing her best not to smirk at the sour look on Fury's face. Tony did let out a small bark of laughter and Bruce, far out of the view of the webcam, also smiled approvingly. "All I'm saying is that being Allies with Asgard is probably the only thing that'll save us if there's a larger scale attack in the future. If you spit in their face and keep Loki a prisoner you're possibly compromising not only that alliance but the safety of earth as well." She was talking out of her ass. Robin had no idea about any of it, not even if there really was an allegiance of any sort. But hey, fake it 'til you make it!

"Fine. You win. But there's going to be some rules. First, the Avengers are staying in Stark Tower until this over with – Shut up Stark before you even start whining. Yes, Banner, you too. Agents Barton and Romanov will also be staying and will keep an eye on Loki at all times. They will report to me directly. SHIELD will also reserve the right to keep High Point state park on lock-down." Fury explained in a defeated but venomous tone. "And miss Sheffield, I hope you really do have nothing to lose because it's all on your head the _second_ that maniac puts a toe out of line."

"Yeah, whatever." She muttered with a nonchalant yawn and acted bored. It wasn't much worse than being told off by the high school disciplinarian. Gods knew she spent enough time in his office. It _had _been a while, though. For Sam's sake, she behaved herself in college. All seven years of it, so far.

"Ugh, fine. It's not like there isn't room for everyone to stay here." Tony said flippantly and hung up on Fury. "Well, that was tedious and obnoxious and how the flying fuck do you know that much about Asgard and its politics?! That's supposed to be classified information!" Tony cried, jumping to his feet and staring her down.

"Tony, I don't think she – " Bruce attempted to interject.

"No, Bruce! I want to know!" Tony snapped, silencing him.

"A lucky guess? Honestly it was all bullshit. I'm assuming you guys went to college, right? Didn't anyone ever tell you how to answer an essay question that you didn't know the answer to? I mean, come on. Even if it's wrong, make it sound like you know what you're talking about and you'll still get some points." She explained. "I really don't know anything about it, I swear. But I had to try." Bruce laughed, breaking the tension and patted her on the shoulder lightly. Tony couldn't help but smile. He might have been a genius engineer, but damn if that wasn't exactly how he passed all those freaking humanities electives. Never mind that he would try and bullshit his out of just about everything as an immediate defense mechanism. Though, admittedly, Robin was scary good at it. Maybe having Loki in her hands was a good thing – it evened the playing field. Because, she had one hell of a silver tongue herself.

"I would like to say I have never done that, but I have." Bruce answered once he'd composed himself. "My entire doctoral dissertation was built on BS. And it was basically a couple hundred pages of saying the same thing repeatedly but in several different ways. But I didn't tell you that." Robin smiled. Banner wasn't so bad after all. He knew_ exactly_ what she meant.

"And yeah, all right. I'll look after your Mom if this goes tits up, I promise. But considering how you just weaseled Loki out of SHIELD's custody, I think you can probably get out of being responsible too. Maybe. Either way, Reindeer Games owes you one." Tony said, conceding defeat. "I guess we should let him out of Bruce's playroom and give him a bedroom. Pissing him off isn't going to make him _want_ to play nice. And I don't think I need to elaborate on what that means." He continued and left Bruce and Robin alone while he went to drag Loki to a proper room. Jarvis commented that he should suit up, but tony ignored him with a nonchalant wave of his hand.

"You're in over your head, you know." Bruce said to Robin. She nodded and sat on the couch next to him. "I've said this a few times before, but, Loki's mind is a bag of cats. He's as crazy as crazy gets. Don't blame us if you find snakes in your underwear drawer or something. I mean, you helped him, I'm sure he knows that. But he's also probably angry that you tricked him into being brought here. I doubt he's just going to let that slide."

"Yeah, Loki's pretty pissed all right." Robin replied. "This is going to bite me in the ass pretty hard, isn't it?"

"Most likely." Bruce agreed. She sighed and left him be. She was going to have to try get at least little rest before she had to deal with Loki in a few short hours. Robin was not a morning person, and with no sleep to speak of, it was not going to be pretty.

* * *

"All right, Rudolph. Let's get you out of there." Tony called as entered the room where Loki was being held. Loki glared at him suspiciously, but something about it was off. Tony couldn't help but wonder what Robin had said to him. He knew she'd gone to see him alone before crashing the little party with Fury because Jarvis had told him. Tony didn't think much of it, though. She wouldn't be able to let him out or anything. He figured she'd just wanted to do a little private antagonizing, and it sure looked that way. Loki definitely looked like a beaten dog, even if he was trying his damnedest to act all smug and crap.

"Get me out? Why? To hand me over to SHILED? You may want to rethink that course of action." Loki replied, watching his every movement. Tony ignored him and whistled to himself while he punched a password in the keypad by the door to release the airlocks. When the glass slid open without a sound, he finally answered.

"Nah, they tried. But our Little Bird talked them out of it. You owe her one." Tony explained and entered the cell. Loki made no attempt to move but opened his mouth to speak. Tony cut him off before he could and grabbed him roughly by the collar of his jacket. "Not only that, but she accepted full responsibility for your actions. Do you know what that means? It means she'll most likely be executed without a trial if you cause any trouble at all. So, don't fuck this up. I don't know what the deal with Asgard is, but you've gotten a second chance here. And I doubt I need to remind you that it's also the last one."

"I… Understand." Loki said with a sigh and pushed Tony's hands away when his grip loosened. "I think I can walk now." He added and stood unsteadily. Tony wasn't sure what Loki was playing at, but the way his face paled when he mentioned it being his last chance told him everything he needed to know. …That the same was true in terms of Asgard and he had nowhere left to run when he screwed up this time. Good. It was about time he learned a lesson.

"Yeah, sure. You had better lean on me and I swear if you stab me with something…" Tony's voice trailed off as he held onto Loki's shoulder and steadied him. "You're staying on Robin's floor since SHIELD insists that the Avengers all get to come stay here for an extended sleep-over party. So, remember that if you piss her off. She'll be right across the hall from you and while I honestly don't know her at all, I wouldn't want her mad at me. She kind of reminds me of you. If you had a baby with me and Pepper and… I am going to stop talking because that is a bad image." Tony said, flustered. Loki smirked.

"I will refrain from commenting on that." Loki muttered, leaning heavily on Tony. He had to admit that these elevator things the mortals had created were a marvelous invention. Climbing seven flights of stairs while Clinging to Stark for support did not bear thinking about. He was endlessly thankful to be away from the man when he was led into a sitting room and deposited on the couch.

"I'll get a bed brought up here tomorrow. I Guess Freckles is lucky this floor has a spare room or she'd be losing her closet." Tony commented nonchalantly. Loki curled up on the couch with his back to Tony and ignored him until he got the point and left. It wasn't very comfortable, and felt like coarse wool but it was much better than leaning up against a glass wall. Somehow, he managed to fall asleep – or passed out again. That was possible too.

* * *

Agent Natasha Romanov, better known as the Black Widow, woke to the sound of her cellphone ringing insistently. It was six o'clock AM, according to the digital alarm clock near the cellphone. Not one to bothered at such an hour, she reached across the gap between the bed and the small wooden end table and pressed the ignore button. Then she turned over and snuggled up to the warm body next to her. How the hell Clint could sleep through that was beyond her. But then, it must have been noisy all the time when he was with the circus in his younger days. She supposed he must be used to it. Then the phone started ringing _again_. She closed her eyes and swore, but ignored it. She was too warm and comfortable next to Clint's sleeping form. In other words, she just couldn't be bothered.

"Nat, are you going to answer that damn thing or not?" Clint asked groggily. Rolling her eyes, Natasha pulled herself away and picked up the offending electronic. Great, it was _Fury. _Granted things had been unusually calm for a while. But hey, that was fine. It meant she and Clint got to live a little instead of constantly being knee-deep in some kind of conspiracy. They had had even gone out for dinner and a movie and all that nonsense. It was starting to feel like they were a proper couple instead of just a pair of spies who happened to be attracted to one another and spent more time working than anywhere else. Angrily, she returned Fury's call.

"I need you and Barton to pack your things and head over to Stark's place. You'll be staying there until further notice. We have a bit of a… Situation." Fury explained.

"Right. Stark. Why does that not surprise me? Look Nick, if you want his tech, stroke his ego and play nice and he'll give it to you. He probably won't make weapons though, so don't get your hopes up. And no, we are not Babysitting Stark." Natasha replied. Clint raised his eyebrows, but kept quiet.

"No, you're not. You're babysitting _Loki_." Fury said in an aggravated tone. "And you will report to me every single day about what he is up to. I'm not saying more about it on the phone. Talk to Stark. This is his mess, he can explain it."

"Wait a minute – Loki? What the hell Fury? I want details!" Natasha half-shouted and sat bolt upright in bed. Clint just shook his head and looked like he swallowed a bug. She knew he wanted nothing to do with that can of worms. …Not after what Loki had done to him.

"Not now." Fury said and hung up on her.

"Shit." Nastaha cursed. "Get dressed, Clint. We have work to do."

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" He asked rhetorically and slid out from under the blankets. Natasha just shook her head and tried to figure out what kind of scenario they would be walking into. Leave it to Stark to somehow mess up what could have been a nice, peaceful morning. What she wouldn't give to shove an M16 machine gun in his face…

* * *

When Robin woke up a few hours later, the sun was already shining and casting a warm glow into her room. Well, it was about time she got up and had a look around. Odds were she'd be staying in these rooms for a while, she might as well get acquainted with them. The bedroom was nothing special, it looked like a fancy hotel room, really. Kinda like in the casinos in Atlantic City, or something. The bed spread was red and gold, as were the drapes and the loveseat in the corner. Stark must have had his Iron Man suit in mind when he chose the colors, she figured. Still, it put her bedroom back home to shame. The bathroom wasn't bad either, it came with a massive Jacuzzi and a shower big enough to fit five people. It was kind of gaudy, though, since it was also done up in the Iron Man colors. She rolled her eyes and went out into the main sitting room. She already knew the other door led to massive walk-in closet since she had gone in there looking for the Bathroom the night before.

This room, she liked a lot. It was built into the corner of the building so two of the walls were just huge windows that offered a spectacular view of New York. It was also nice and warm with the morning sun shining in. Basically, it was furnished like any other sitting room with a few couches, big comfy chairs… and a minibar. Sweet. On her way to check out the bar, she noticed a certain Norse God of mischief curled up on the largest sofa and nearly squeaked in surprise. Tip-toeing, she got closer to Loki and saw that he was, indeed, deeply Asleep. So, she had to wonder what that meant. Either Loki was sharing a floor with her or he had found his way up there on his own somehow. Robin found herself hoping it was neither. Ignoring him, for the time being, she looked at the map of the building that was left on the mahogany coffee table. She saw where the kitchen was, and decided to go foraging and leave Loki to his own devices for the time being. As much she needed a few shots of whiskey to get her mind off all this nonsense, alcohol was not a suitable breakfast substance. And she hadn't eaten since before she'd left to visit High Point the day before.

When she found her way to kitchen, Tony was in there making himself a bowl of cheerios. He looked up as she entered and gave her a look that quite plainly said he'd had better mornings. She replied with a sympathetic nod and found a bowl in one of the cabinets. Cheerios it was.

"So, why is Loki in my sitting room?" She asked through a mouthful of the sweet cereal.

"Nowhere else to put him. Don't worry, you don't have to share a bed. Though, wouldn't that be something?" Tony retorted. Robin choked on her cereal and glared at him in disgust. She'd sooner sleep with him and he was almost old enough to be her father. "There _is_ another bedroom up there. The door on the other side of the elevator in the sitting room. It's not set up, though. Jarvis already took care of that. Furniture guys'll be here in a few hours." Tony continued, smirking at her reaction.

"So, when'll the rest of the Avengers show up?" She asked, stirring the cereal with her spoon distractedly. It was a nervous habit; Robin was terrible at sitting still, and her mind was going in about ten different directions at once concerning Loki. That and wow... She was going to meet the rest of the Avengers, and live with them. Holy Shit.

"Clint and Natasha are already here. You'll want to keep Loki away from Clint. He hates him as much as, if not more than you apparently do." Tony explained and went on to tell her about how he'd taken Control of Agent Barton's mind and forced him to work against his allies. Suddenly, Robin felt a little petty about it all. She wasn't the only one who'd lost a loved one to Loki, but she hadn't been turned against them, either. Yeah, she'd keep Loki away from Hawkeye, mostly for his own safety. If she could, anyway. They were supposed to be keeping an eye on him for SHIELD after all.

When she'd finished eating, Robin got some spare clothes out of her car and went back to her floor. She wasn't sure she wanted to deal with SHIELD's spies at that particular moment. When she got there, Loki was right where she'd left him. He had moved, though, since he was laying with his head on the opposite armrest. She decided not to wake him, she could approach that whole mess after she had a shower. Without thinking much of it, she left her clean clothes and towels on the bench near the vanity in the bathroom. Yeah, the bathroom had a whole vanity desk and a mirror as big as her car.

The shower felt like heaven, and she spent way more time in there entirely necessary. Maybe she just didn't want to face what was waiting on the other side of that garish red stained glass shower door. Oh well, at least she couldn't see through it. Finally, when she started running out of hot water, she turned the tap off and stepped into the steam-filled bathroom.

"Huh? Must of left them on the bed." Robin said to herself, noticing that her towels and clean clothes weren't on the bench. She muttered a string of curses and went to get another set of towels from the linen closet by the vanity. But it was empty. _Empty?_ "Fuck me. You have _got _to be fucking kidding me." She whispered, eyes widening in Horror. She instinctively wrapped her arms around her bare breasts as she felt her cheeks turning pink. Her eyes darted to the bathroom door. It was closed as it had been, and she hadn't heard anyone come in. But… where did her clothes go? And ALL the towels in the closet? Loki, of course. Miserably, she slunk to the door and opened it just wide enough to peek around her bedroom. It was also empty, and there was no sign of her clothes anywhere. Angry and dripping water all over the thick red and gold carpet, she began searching the dresser drawers.

In the sitting room, Loki heard Robin's exasperated curses when she failed to find her clothes anywhere in the room. He smiled devilishly and suppressed the urge to laugh. Stealing someone's clothes while they bathed might have been the oldest trick in the books, but he had to do _something_. It wasn't like he had any magic to conjure fake snakes in her towels or anything better. The funny part was how easily he'd pulled it off. He'd even tripped on a rug in the bathroom and knocked a can of some kind of hair product off the vanity. Somehow, Robin apparently hadn't heard him or the loud metallic clatter as it hit the terracotta tiles. Thoughtfully, Loki leaned against the pile of towels on the couch next to him. When was she going to give up and ask for her clothes back? Just as he was wondering it, he heard the tell-tale creak of the door opening by a fraction.

"Give me my clothes. _Now._" She hissed through the crack and Loki laughed helplessly as he handed her the clothes and a towel. She snatched them away without a word and slammed the door shut in his face. When she finally emerged, she looked ready to commit a homicide.

"I do believe we are even, now." Loki said as she sat on the couch across from him on the other side of the coffee table. "And I am thankful for you getting me out of that prison of sorts."

"Don't be too thankful. Remember Agent Barton? Yeah, he's responsible for making daily reports to SHIELD. And he'll be staying here." Robin snapped and got up to check out the minibar, _now_ she needed that shot of whiskey. She was also somewhat gratified to see the color drain from Loki's face. Apparently Tony was right, and that couldn't be good. "Anyway. Seeing as you can walk now since you stole my damn clothes without me noticing, we're going shopping."

"Shopping?" Loki asked, cocking his head to the side questioningly.

"Yes, for clothes. You need to _not_ look like the batshit insane guy who led an alien army that attacked earth. Meaning, you need real people clothes – not that crazy space Viking anime con getup. I do, too. I can't be the administrator of Stark Tower and go to financial meetings in Guns and Roses tee shirts." Robin explained, breaking the seal on a bottle of Jack Daniel's. "Whiskey?" She offered.

"I prefer wine, but food would be better." Loki responded, choosing to ignore the comment about his outfit, not that he understood it anyway.

"Suit yourself. There's some Merlot in there, and a sweet red." Robin answered with a shrug and decided to make herself a whiskey sour instead. "You're going to have to go downstairs for food. If you do, ask Mr. Stark to borrow a shirt and some jeans or something to wear for the day. And for some money because I don't have any." Loki decided to do that, though it felt like taking fate into his own hands. Especially asking Stark for clothing. Damn her, making him ask was by no means a coincidence. It was petty revenge for his little trick. Somehow, he actually _liked _that about her. The way her mind worked was similar to his own in many ways, every word was carefully calculated, even if it didn't seem that way. She was an excellent actress, and he would guess she also had a mischievous streak of her own that was a mile long. Either way, it was a blessing and a curse. Messing with her could be quite a bit of fun, but she obviously wasn't above giving back as good as she got. …And he had more important things to worry about than this little battle of wills they had started. His amends weren't going to make themselves, and one of these days Thanos would come for him. He was going to need his magic to get out of that one. _If_ he got out of it.

He found the kitchen easily enough. Though, finding breakfast wasn't as easy as he had hoped. He didn't know much about what mortal food tasted like, or really what it even looked like. When he had been on earth previously, he had his thralls bring his food. It was mostly things they called burgers and pizza. It wasn't very good, but it was sustenance. Now he had no idea what he was supposed to eat or how to make it. Feeling suitably cowed, he dug through a cabinet of boxes that seemed to hold little sugary crunchy things. Loki found himself wondering how Thor had figured this out, considering his intellect was so significantly superior to his brother's. He was "rescued" by a certain doctor in a shabby lab coat.

"Do you need help?" Bruce asked, hiding an idiotic smile. He'd been watching Loki try to figure out what to do for a few minutes. It was unbelievably amusing, but he supposed he didn't need to be an ass on purpose. He didn't need to lower himself to Loki's level of scheming and belittling others. He knew from his own experiences in being a "monster" that a little kindness went a long way.

"I… Would appreciate assistance, yes." The trickster answered, trying to play it cool and allowed Bruce to show him how to prepare a bowl of cereal. "Put your bowl in the sink when you're done." Bruce said and left Loki to his own devices. The cereal, which tasted vaguely of cardboard and chocolate, wasn't all that bad. Though, he would have preferred some kind of fire-roasted breakfast meat. Still, beggars couldn't be choosers.

Finding Stark was a nightmare. He'd even ran into the Widow. She told him plainly and calmly of all the things she'd do to him if he gave Barton any trouble. Little did she know, that Loki thought of some of the threats as rather… erotic. It really was too bad she actually scared him a bit. Not that he would ever admit that. When he finally found Tony, he was in his workshop welding a seam on a gauntlet that must have been part of a new Iron Man suit design. Jarvis allowed him to enter, but warned him not to touch anything. Loki cleared his throat loudly to get Stark's attention. He looked up in irritation, and frowned when he saw him.

"Jarvis, security breach." Tony said flatly.

"Noted, sir." The AI replied. "Mr. Laufeyson has been searching for you nearly an hour. Perhaps you should take pity?" Tony snorted and shook his head. What was he thinking, letting Jarvis be so sassy?

"What do you want, Bambi? I'm kinda busy." He said Flippantly.

"I need to borrow some clothing. My _savior_ insists on going shopping for my own and does not want me to be seen like this. She also would like to know if you would lend her some money since she apparently has none and her wardrobe is lacking as well." Loki replied, irritably. This was even more annoying that he thought it would be. Tony frowned, but apparently thought better of whatever snide remark was on the tip of his tongue.

"Yeah, sure, give me a minute. And here, give this to Freckles. Make sure she hands it over when you're done. No more than Five-hundred dollars, got it?" Tony said and dug through his wallet for a credit card which he handed over to Loki. Loki examined the thin rectangular piece of plastic curiously.

"This is money?" He asked, frowning.

"…In a way, yeah. Just call it plastic money. And get your ass in that elevator so I can find something that fits you and get back to my work." Tony complained, waving his hand in the direction of the elevator that Jarvis had opened the doors of. Seething, Loki followed him.

He wound up in a Black Sabbath tee shirt and a pair of jeans. With the long, kind of messy hair, he totally owned it. Or, at least Tony thought so. If nothing else he had a better grasp of modern colloquial English than Thor, and it wasn't like Shakespeare in the park when had to talk to him. Though, Loki seemed to be the type that would prefer some kind of classical orchestra stuff rather than vintage rock. Mozart and Beethoven type music, probably. Either way, shopping for clothes with Robin, that was going to be hilarious and Tony was willing to bet he'd find it on someone's Youtube later. Yeah, he'd have to ask Jarvis to remind him to look after he got out of the press conference with Microsoft that he was already late for.


	5. Robin of Loxley

**Notes:** Loki shopping for underwear… I don't even. Kill me.

Just a warning that there is mention of rape in this chapter that could be a trigger for some folks, nothing graphic though.

Also going back and fixing some mistakes in previous chapters. :3

* * *

**Chapter 5: Robin of Loxley**

* * *

"Loki, there is absolutely nothing you need to be looking at in the women's lingerie section." Natasha said calmly and with a slight note of satisfaction at the way Loki jumped at the sound of her voice. He really must not have had any of his powers, or there would be no way she'd have been able to sneak up behind him so easily. That was good at least, she had been worried that was just an elaborate trick. Though, she could positively kill Stark for having allowed this little shopping trip from hell. Jarvis could have easily just ordered clothes from the internet. There were few places on earth she would find worse than shopping for clothes at Macy's with a clinically insane demigod and well, Clint. But he had refused to let her go alone, and she him. And of course, one of them had to be observing Loki. Hopefully she could avoid him long enough to not have to try on any stupid lacy panties he'd picked out – courtesy of Tony Stark. Which would be all that much more infuriating. She wanted no part of thinking about that asshat and her panties in the same sentence.

"The men's section is far too limited in selection. One should take pride in their undergarments – or the occasional lack thereof." Loki replied in a serious tone and otherwise ignored Natasha. She folded her arms across her chest and was about to demand that he get out of there when Clint spoke up. And again, what the hell was _he_ doing in there? He knew better. She bit back a comment about men being pigs and tapped her foot impatiently.

"Let it go, Tash. If he wants to emasculate himself by wearing girly undies who cares? It's not like anyone is going to see them." He said with a shrug. Loki glared daggers at him but made no comment. Natasha could tell Clint was putting forth a huge effort to be civil with Loki. The words were casual, but she knew him well enough to sense the venom behind them. So did Loki, probably.

Robin was blissfully unaware of the ridiculous underwear debate as she dug through a sale rack full of half price items. She didn't have a clue why the hell Stark thought they would need five hundred dollars to buy clothes. Well, maybe _his _clothes were that pricy. She'd already picked out a couple of nice blazers and skirts. Still, she hated shopping for clothes. So, she decided to leave Loki in the very capable hands of the two spies from SHIELD with instructions not to let him pick anything too flamboyant. That way, his antics wouldn't add to how much she already despised being there. Unfortunately, the relatively peaceful arrangement was short-lived. It was the sound of a bunch of teenage girls giggling that drew Robin's attention away from looking through the sale rack. Well, foraging might be the better word. Why was it so damn hard to find anything that wasn't ugly? _Being female is such a pain in the ass,_ she griped to herself as she turned to look at the girls with a feeling of dread. Somehow, she just _knew_ Loki had to be involved.

"Oh please kill me." She whispered when she saw Loki with his arms full of totally presentable men's formal attire and… a pile of women's panties. Mostly they seemed to be green satin, but some were gold. Robin closed her eyes and counted to ten silently trying to control the sudden outburst of anger. Maybe he really didn't know they weren't unisex or something. But hell, Natasha and Clint should have told him. Though, she couldn't blame them for not telling him either. From their point of view, it was probably hilarious

"There you are." Loki said, approaching her. "I am finished." _Damn right you are…_ Robin thought to herself, especially when she noticed one of the girls in the little gaggle whip out a cell phone. Obviously she was taking a picture of it.

"Those are _women's_ underwear." She said, flatly and stared him down. It had no effect whatsoever on the God.

"I am aware. Also, these ones are for you." He said holding out a hot pink g-string with rhinestones all over it. Since when did they even sell shit like that at Macy's? It looked like it belonged on the sale rack at Spencer's with a matching vibrator. The girls burst into full-on hysterics. Robin narrowed her eyes and grabbed the thing out of his hands.

"I hate you so much right now." She muttered as if it would make a difference. Loki only gave her an infuriating smile. "And shut up and put that damn phone away you stupid little bint!" She screamed, finally losing it. Loki nearly fell over laughing, and to her Chagrin, Robin also heard Clint laughing somewhere nearby.

"Yeah, what are you gonna do?" The girl with the phone asked in a snotty tone. She looked like some wannabe rich kid with bleach-blonde hair and way too much make-up. If she were a little older, she would probably get arrested for looking too much like a hooker. The skimpy outfit she was wearing didn't leave much to the imagination either.

"I'll start with finding your mother and asking her what the hell she's been smoking. She must really hate you if she lets you out in public dressed like that. You look like a cheap whore. Put. The. Phone. Away." Robin snarled. For a moment, the girl hesitated, but she was either very brave or very stupid.

"Nah, you're just jealous, grandma." She retorted in a snarky tone. "Because you don't have the body to pull this off. I bet you're still a _virgin_." The other girls laughed along and made faces at her. Really? They thought she was_ jealous_? Maybe she wasn't a supermodel, but she certainly could dress like a slut if she _wanted_ to. Robin had reached her limited.

"Actually no, I have pride in my body and I don't need to be a sex object to get laid." She said sweetly. Then, she threw the clothes down on the floor and lunged for the girl with the phone in one fluid motion. She squealed in horror and dropped it in her scramble to get away. Robin very nearly grabbed her by the front of her cut-off top, but a pair of strong arms restrained her. Furiously, she turned around expecting it to be Clint, but it was Loki that held her back. Clint paused mid-step with a confused expression on his face, as he had apparently been beaten to the punch by Loki. Natasha was near him, her face completely expressionless.

"Let go of me, now!" Robin hissed, her heart pounding. The girls stood frozen, staring at them like cornered animals. The blonde one grabbed the phone she'd dropped and shoved it in her bra.

"No. They aren't worth it. Even if only for all the reasons you just said yourself." Loki said seriously. "Trust me. I know." And he did, really. It was just like growing up with Thor, Sif and the warriors three. They constantly did things like that to get a rise out of him, mostly so they could make fun of him later for how badly they'd beat him up when he turned on them. Thor tried to stop him constantly, it just took him a long time to figure out why. And only now, did he finally understand that maybe Thor _had _always watched over him, no matter what Loki wanted to tell himself. He wasn't sure what came over him, but he didn't want Robin to retaliate – it was what they wanted and he knew she was better than that. _If she weren't, she wouldn't have agreed to be responsible for me. _He told himself. It must have been something specific she'd said to make Robin snap like that, though. She didn't seem the type to allow herself to be intimidated by little squawking teenage girls.

"I know that, but –" She began to say.

"Let it go." Natasha said in a tone that very much suggested that something really bad would happen if she didn't. Robin nodded mutely and relaxed in Loki's grip. He still didn't release her.

"This is _so_ going on Youtube!" The blonde giggled and ran off with her friends, probably to torment someone else. Loki finally let her go.

"Let's go pay for this before security shows up and tries to arrest me for attempting to assault a minor." Robin snarled, picking up the clothes.

"I was just about to suggest that." Nastasha said as she and Loki helped pick them up. Clint kept an eye out to make sure the girls kept their distance.

"So, do you want this or not?" Loki asked, holding up the offending pink g-string. Robin stared at it for a moment before snatching it out of his hands.

"Yes, so I can steal your clothes while you're in the shower and leave that in their place." She replied giving him a meaningful glance, her lips twitching in a faint smile which he returned. Oh, he'd like to see her try to pull that off. Natasha snorted and shook her head, but she was hiding a smile as well. Clint just rolled his eyes. He knew Loki well enough (regardless of circumstances) to know he'd probably already done something similar to her.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tony, Bruce and Steve Rogers (better known as Captain America) were having a heated discussion about the current arrangements concerning Loki. ...A heated discussion that involved left-over pizza, beer, a very angry looking Steve and a slightly hung-over Tony. They all sat in the lounge on the sofas around the large coffee table exchanging awkward glances.

"I'm just saying that this is a bad idea. We can't trust Loki, and I think Thor would have told us about this first." Steve tried to explain, fixing Tony with that annoying blue-eyed mother hen stare while he ran his fingers through his dark blonde hair irritably. "I know we can't hand him over to SHIELD, I understand that. I just don't like it is all."

"You don't have to like it, Capcicle. I don't like it. But it is what it is." Tony answered. "So far he's behaved, and that's better than nothing." Really, he liked Steve, but the man was just a royal pain in the ass sometimes. He questioned everything and got mad at other people when they did the questioning and/or digging. ...Or hacking in Tony's case. He still harped at Tony for hacking into SHIELD's databases on the helicarrier during the Tesseract mess. He and Bruce had an agreement that Steve was not to know that Tony hacked literally everything SHIELD owned on a regular basis since. You know, paranoia and all that. He was the posterchild.

"I think there's a lot more to Loki than what we've seen. That maybe he's not just a spoiled prince who's pissed because he was adopted. We don't even know that whole story, remember? Thor wouldn't tell us anything about it." Bruce interjected, tony found himself nodding in agreement. Steve reluctantly saw the truth in the statement as well. They sat in silence for a moment, wondering what they _would _do if Loki turned on them. It was a tense silence that was very unlike them. Either way, it was broken by the sound of Jarvis relaying a 'very important' message to Tony.

"Sir, you asked me to keep an eye on Youtube for videos of the ah, shopping adventure. I have one such video that may be of interest." Tony smiled disarmingly when Steve and Bruce gave him an odd, questioning look.

"Let's have a look, Jarvis." Tony said and had the AI bring up a hologram of the video that was titled 'Woman Goes Apeshit in Macy's NYC'. Tony winced and hit play, and all three men watched in a stunned silence as the scene in the department store played out before them, albeit in crappy cellphone quality. At the last second all they could see was Robin lunging for the girl and Loki reaching out to grab her before the girl apparently dropped the phone and they got a close-up of dirty department store flooring, and then her glorious cleavage. But there was still sound, and what was _definitely_ Loki's voice telling Robin that she wasn't worth it.

"Well, not to point out the obvious, but I think Loki just aided in averting what would have been an annoying legal mess – without time to actually think about what he was doing." Bruce observed, curiously.

"Yeah, maybe he does have some good in him – my first thought would have been the same as Robin's." Tony said with a shrug. "…And I probably would have smacked at least one of them and had to pay them off later to be quiet about it." Steve muttered something about Stark not being a real hero, which Tony ignored as he had Jarvis dial Natasha's phone number. "Hey. How's shopping?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Shitty." She said simply. No need to mince words. He liked that about her, even if he'd be the first to admit that the widow intimidated him just a tiny bit. "Keep an eye out on Youtube."

"Already did and already having Jarvis delete it and root ban the dumbass that uploaded it." Tony answered.

"Good. We'll be back soon. We stopped at the Shawarma place for lunch. Clint insisted. Robin doesn't seem too impressed, but I think we may have found something to reward Loki with for good behavior – Judging by the way he's eyeing up Robin's which she hasn't touched." Natasha replied, a slight edge of humor in her voice. Tony could just imagine the scene, and Robin scooting her plate away from Loki because fuck him. He actually he choked on his coffee and laughed. He could hear Clint laughing in the background too and Loki asking if he could _please _have it.

"All right then, crisis averted. See you ladies, and Clint, later." Tony said. "So, what do you think set her off, 'virgin' or 'grandma'?" He asked Bruce and Steve after he hung up on Natasha.

"Virgin."All three of them answered in unison. Because yeah, it was _that _obvious.

* * *

Robin had no idea what Shawarma even was, and she wasn't much of a meat-eater anyway. The dingy little restaurant reminded her of a lot of the places back home, she was grateful for that at least. Robin was used to being in New York, but she preferred the quiet and calm of the country. Did anyone ever sleep here? Though, she couldn't help but slide her food away when she noticed Loki staring at it hungrily. He looked almost like he was going to start drooling, even though he had already nearly inhaled his own. Just because he'd saved her from making a royal mess didn't mean she wasn't still pissed at him. Boredly, she watched Clint and Natasha arguing about who got dibs to watch TV first on their floor when they got back to Stark tower. Apparently they couldn't agree on watching the same thing together unless it was video games. No one had mentioned the Macy's incident. Which was a good thing on the whole. Robin was horribly embarrassed, and truly it was extremely out of character for her.

"If you are not going eat that, can I have it?" Loki finally asked, hopefully. She raised her eyes to meet his and sighed. Well, he _had _stopped her from doing something stupid, and wasn't that supposed to be her job? "_Please_ can I have it?" Loki added with a touch of sarcasm when she didn't respond. Silently, Robin slid the plastic tray in his direction. He smiled in that devilish, yet innocent way that only he could manage and thanked her. She hadn't spoken since leaving the store and didn't feel starting to now.

They took a shortcut on the way back. They'd decided to walk and ride a bus since there was four of them and most of Tony's cars were wildly impractical. Instead of going back out to the main road, they went through a back alley that would cut straight through to the bus station on the other side of the block. And that was when everything went even further to the dogs.

"Help me!" A woman screamed. On reflex, Clint drew his bow and Natasha grabbed the handgun in her hip holster as they ran in the direction of the scream. Loki and Robin followed at a distance after sharing a wary glance. Neither of them would be any use and they both knew it. To be fair, Loki might be, but it didn't really matter. The scene that greeted them was a total mess. There were five men, Gangsters, surrounding what looked like a homeless woman who was cowering against the wall behind her. They were a motley crew of mixed nationalities and ages. But they all looked dangerous, to Robin at least. Natasha had rushed in without looking and went to the woman's aid, only to be caught by surprise by a sixth gangster hiding behind a dumpster. She found herself tossed unceremoniously into said dumpster, while Clint incapacitated five of them. The one left grabbed the woman and took a switch blade out of his sweatshirt sleeve and held it in front of her face.

"Walk out of here now and I don't kill her." He spat. He was a middle aged white man, missing several teeth and covered in badly drawn tattoos._ I bet he's a real hit with the ladies, _Robin thought disgustedly and actually wrinkled her nose a little.

"Let's be reasonable here, she's defenseless." Clint said calmly, tentatively taking a step forward. The man pointed his knife at Clint menacingly. He had to be an idiot, the guy had no idea what he was messing with. …But that was when Robin's eyes fell to Clint's bow that was lying on the ground near her with an arrow beside it. Obviously, he'd gone for the hand to hand approach given the tight quarters. Robin slunk forward unnoticed since the gangster was preoccupied with Clint.

"What are you doing?" Loki whispered and followed her, but she ignored him. Quietly, she picked up the bow and nocked the arrow. Yeah, she could make this shot, easy. Well, easier than trying to take a down a buck hiding behind a bush. Something about the feel of the taught bowstring below her fingers calmed her. It had been too long since she'd gone hunting. It was the only thing she and her late step-father actually agreed on. She'd only stopped after he died because she rarely ate meat and it felt wrong to kill something she wasn't going to make use of. She drew the beast of a compound bow with some effort; the draw weight was a lot heavier than she was used to. She took only a second to aim and let the arrow fly. It missed Clint's cheek by about an inch which caused him to jump in surprise as it pierced the man's hand that was holding the switchblade and pinned it to the wall. He screamed in agony and dropped the knife that was covered in blood from the force of the impact. He ripped the arrow out of the wall and bolted, howling in pain. Robin handed a stunned looking Clint the bow and took the wallet out of one of the unconscious gangster's pockets. It had a fifty in it that she gave to the woman.

"Go get yourself a jacket, Macy's is having a sale." Robin said and reached up to help Natasha out of the dumpster. The poor woman had to be freezing. Clint thought he should tell her not to take the money, but hey, it was for a good cause. It was early spring, yeah, but that didn't mean it was warm and her clothes were nearly in tatters. She thanked Robin and the two spies, and even Loki who hadn't done anything profusely before she left.

"Now I know why they call you Robin." Clint said once they got out of the alley. "But it should be Robin of Loxley. Seriously, what the hell? Okay, so if I had my usual bow you wouldn't have been able to draw it, but damn."

"I used to hunt, but it's been a while." Robin said with a shrug. "I think my license might be expired, actually. Shit. What? Why are you all looking at me like that?! I live in the boonies!" She added, as if it were an excuse, and every girl that lived upstate knew how to hunt… With a bow.

"You stole his money." Natasha accused.

"She needed it more than he did." Robin replied without thinking.

"Robin Hood, indeed." Loki commented and the other two nodded in agreement. Robin didn't even want to know how or why Loki understood the reference to the legend of Robin Hood. But she had to admit, she didn't mind that as a nickname. It was better than freckles and didn't have any bad memories attached to it.

* * *

When they finally arrived at Stark tower, Robin went straight to her room and shut the door. She put away her clothes in the closet, aside from the obnoxious g-string that she shoved in a drawer, and flopped down on her bed. Miserably she lay there for a while just staring at the ceiling. She could just imagine Clint and Natasha retelling the story of her… _heroics_. She also knew that Captain America had arrived. She didn't really want to deal with anything or anyone at the moment, though. Instead, she lay there on her bed trying to figure how she even found herself in this mess. That was when she really starting questioning Loki's behavior earlier, the way he'd held her back from attacking the girls in the store. She got the feeling that there was a lot Loki didn't tell her about his life in in Asgard. Things that maybe he didn't want to deal with - things that he was trying to forget about.

"So, what was it she said that made you so angry?" Loki asked, breaking the blessed silence. Robin turned her head to see him standing in the doorway with his arms folded leaning against the side of the doorframe. He was still wearing Tony's clothes. She sighed and looked back up at the ceiling.

"I asked to be left alone. And don't you know that it's common courtesy to knock on the door before waltzing into a woman's bedroom?" She replied tartly. The truth was she wasn't nearly as angry at Loki as she had been, or probably should be. But she was no less prideful than he was and she wasn't about to admit it. He could perceive that as a weakness, after all.

"I did knock on the door, and you did not answer the question." Loki retorted and sat on the edge of her bed like he owned the place. She was torn between wanting to scream at him to get the fuck out and feeling somewhat grateful for someone to talk to – even if it had to be him. …And wondering how she'd been so absorbed in her thoughts as not to hear him knocking.

"It isn't any of your business." Robin answered.

"It was the 'virgin' bit, was it not?" Loki asked, pretending to pick at his nails. She watched him for a moment and recalled his comment that he sometimes enjoyed shapeshifting into a woman. She definitely believed it, he could be incredibly effeminate. But there didn't seem to be a line with him, as he was masculine when he wanted to be as well. Whatever the case, proper gender roles most likely either meant nothing to him or he considered them to be petty and trivial. That, she could understand – she was one hell of tomboy.

"Get. Out." She snarled and closed her eyes. No, she was not having this conversation with Loki. No way, no how.

"So it was. But why?" He inquired, blatantly ignoring her. He appeared to be curious, but it didn't seem like he was scheming anything. Still, Robin knew better than to trust him.

"If I tell you, will you leave me the hell alone?" She responded, still staring at the ceiling.

"Possibly. That depends on what you tell me." The God answered. Maybe? Well, that was better than a definite 'no' and he made no sign of leaving. One thing Robin had learned very quickly about Loki was that he was tenacious as fuck, and wouldn't let something go until he got exactly what he wanted. In other words, there was no point in arguing because he'd just keep badgering her until she eventually caved.

"It made me angry because I AM jealous. Because they're a bunch of stupid pretty girls who'll get whatever they want if they bat their eyelashes at some guy. I mean, I'm not ugly. I'm just not good at being a girl and most men don't want anything to do with a girl that can probably kick their ass. Except Clint, apparently – Natasha got lucky." Robin explained, without looking at Loki. "Basically, I'm twenty seven years old and I always thought I'd be married by now, maybe even have a kid. Hell, at least maybe have _someone._ Instead I'm Tony Stark's errand bitch. Or I will be once you've gotten your crap together and go back to Asgard. Did you know part of the job description was kicking out his one-night stands? ..If only this weren't _my _last chance to get my own shit together. And no, Loki, I'm not a goddamn virgin."

"You are thinking about that entirely the wrong way. What those girls have is sex – not love. They will get married, probably. And then divorced in five years and possibly have to raise children on their own, too. They might be abused, maybe even raped; their children might also be abused. But that isn't what you want, is it?" Loki told her after thinking about it for a moment. She _knew _that, but it didn't make it feel any better. "Believe me, I've made that mistake more times than I can count. Just, thankfully not involving any bastard children – and only two actual marriages." He added and stared at the floor with a look that could have made hell freeze over if he had his magic. Such sentimentality must have been difficult for him, she reasoned.

"What is it _you _want, Loki? I think that's the real question here. Is that why you did what you did? Because no one loved you?" He huffed indignantly and left without a word.

"So it is. I guess you were right, Sam." Robin said to the ceiling. He'd always believed that everyone had some good in them, and apparently even Loki had a softer side. …Even if he obviously wanted no part of discussing it further. It was the fact that it existed that not only completely shocked Robin, but made her realize that maybe there actually was some hope for him cleaning up the mess he'd made. If he regretted this, which he obviously did, then some part of him most likely regretted his crimes as well. She'd probably never be able to forgive him, but others would.

* * *

Tony couldn't believe what he was hearing when Clint and Natasha told him, Steve and Bruce about the incident in the alleyway. They were gathered around the small table on Tony's floor where they usually had their meals when they were all visiting. Bruce had an easier time imagining Robin's actions. He recalled the way she hadn't really cared about her hands being injured the night before. Between that, and her obvious air of confidence and the way she carried herself – he had a harder time imaging her having done nothing. No, she didn't seem the type to back down from a fight. That was a good thing, because being Tony Stark's property manager for Stark tower could possibly come with kidnapping risks. …And she was a woman, regardless of her strength. Steve seemed indifferent. He knew more than enough women worth ten men in a fight, between Natasha, Agent Hill and… Peggy. God how he missed Peggy.

"That's it, forget Freckles. Her new nickname is Katniss Everdeen." Tony said laughing.

"I don't get it." Steve said, frowning.

"I don't either." Bruce agreed.

"The Hunger games? Katniss is – Oh nevermind." Tony said and rolled his eyes. "What do you guys live in caves or something?"

"I don't know, but I think I'm going to try to get her to show me what she can do with a bow. You know, it case it was just dumb luck. I mean, I kinda doubt it was – the arrow missed my head by like an inch." Clint suggested. "Her being able to defend herself can only be a good thing if the shit hits the fan with Loki." Natasha and the others agreed, and came up with a plan to properly teach Robin to fight. Well, if she wanted to. Currently, the only thing on the ginger's mind was a frozen margarita and planning volunteer work around the city for Loki – in that order.

* * *

Loki paced his room, deep in thought. He hated the room, really. It was garish and trimmed in Man of Iron's color scheme. It was really just a smaller version of Robin's room without the loveseat. He was glad it still had a small writing desk, though. He was also glad to have a proper bed. Either way, he'd already put away his new clothes and had nothing left to distract himself with. Sure, he was thinking about what robin had told him, but the thing he really couldn't get out of his head was the way the woman in the alley had thanked him for saving her. He hadn't even _done _anything, and surprisingly, he found himself wishing that he had. If he'd helped, maybe he'd feel that he deserved thanks. ...Either way, it was for the better, he had been almost positive that the men intended to rape her, and they would have easily done it if they didn't happen to be passing through. It was funny really, he thought to himself. …That he could commit so many atrocities, even trying to kill his brother who was one of the few people who actually cared about him, yet he drew the line at rape. Well, he knew _why _he drew that line. But it still made him wonder why it was so much worse than killing hundreds of people, who had families still mourning for them. Again, he knew that, too. He didn't care if his family mourned for him when he would die – he wouldn't exist anymore to care. But rape, well, that was something he _had_ experienced. Something he'd never told anyone about, not even his mother and certainly not Thor. A good two hundred and some odd years later it still haunted him – even if bedding nearly everyone and everything in Asgard had been his sick, twisted way of dealing with it.

With a sigh, he threw himself down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling in a manner similar to Robin. _Robin_. He couldn't figure her out. She was utterly unpredictable and that was not something he was used to dealing with. He despised her considerably less than when she had when she brought him to Stark Tower, especially after their conversation that afternoon. True, he could have said more, but he didn't want to touch that can of worms with a ten foot pole. It was opening too many old wounds that he didn't want to face, wounds that _should_ be long buried in the past. He'd gotten his point across, at least – or so he hoped. Mortals were so petty, though. He was desperate to start doing something – anything – to make his amends and be done with it just so he could go home to Asgard. He missed his freedom, most of all. But that, he assumed, he would have to earn.


	6. Kittens and Lies

**Notes:** Finally starting on some Tony/Bruce. It's surprisingly difficult. Promise we'll be getting to some action/violence soon. ^_~

**Warning:** Mentions of past rape/non-con, nothing graphic

* * *

**Chapter 6: Kittens and Lies**

* * *

Breaking the news to Pepper about Loki staying in Stark tower was even worse than dealing with Fury almost a month ago. At least robin had come to his rescue then. But not this time. It was just Tony and an absolutely incensed Pepper Potts alone in the lounge. To be fair, Bruce had backed him up at first. But he found some excuse about a project he was working on down in the lab and bolted. Tony didn't blame him, really. Pepper was fucking scary when she was mad. And she had every right to be. Loki had been living there for a month, and he hadn't told her. It was Rhodey who told her. She glared at him with a mixture of purely judgmental anger with a touch of betrayal. Tony just got up and poured himself a glass of scotch. Why did everyone think that he was totally fine and happy about Loki staying in his tower? He wasn't. Not at all. But he believed in second chances. And so far the trickster had kept his word. He downed the whole glass in one shot, trying to pretend he couldn't feel Pepper's eyes burning a hole into his back.

"You've done a lot of stupid things, Tony – I know that more so than most people but this… This is just… What are you thinking? He'll play nice, sure, but he'll probably stab you all in the back the minute he gets his powers back. Then what?" Pepper snapped, getting tired of the very not Tony-like silent treatment.

"Life insurance, Peps. That's what it's for. And you're my only beneficiary and I'm a billionaire. I don't see why you're complaining." Tony commented with a shrug and leaned against the bar. He was dressed in an ACDC tee shirt and a pair of worn jeans. All of his clothes were grease-stained. At least he'd gotten to Pepper before she got to his workshop. If she thought his past obsession with building Iron Man suits before the Mandarin nightmare was bad… Well, she'd be beside herself now. He hated himself sometimes, really. He loved her more than anything, but God did he know he didn't deserve her. Yet, he would do _anything _to have her back. She was still his CEO, of course, but not waking up with her curled up against him in the morning was torture. There was a hole in life where she ought to be and it was killing him.

"Are you kidding? That's your answer? I thought maybe you'd take this seriously. Or maybe you'd… I don't know, think about someone other than yourself once in a while!" She shouted, running her fingers through her disheveled strawberry blonde hair. Tony felt like he'd been punched in the gut. Her words cut through him like a knife.

"I _am_ thinking about someone else for a change. What do you think would happen to Loki in SHIELD's custody?" He snapped, all humor gone from his voice.

"Who cares! He's a murderer, Tony! How could someone capable of what he did have any good at all in them?" She shrieked in reply. Tony didn't deign that worth answering. Not when a few years ago, most of the world said the same thing about him. It was praise and adoration of his genius, but if asked what they thought of the person himself… Tony gripped the empty glass so hard that it cracked.

"Ms. Potts, Loki may be a murderer but he's here to make amends for actions. He could be rotting in a cell laughing about it all like it doesn't matter. But instead he's trying to clean up his mess. That's more than can be said for most criminals – especially murderers." Tony turned at the sound of Steve's voice, surprised to see the super soldier standing in the doorway. He must have just come from the gym as he was clad in sweat-drenched workout clothes.

"He's just using you all, don't you see?" Pepper retorted, tears shining in the corners of her eyes. "I hope for your sake, Tony, that this all doesn't turn into a mess because I don't know what I'd do if you died!"

"You'll be fine, Peps. Set for life and the company will be yours." Tony replied with a shrug. He hated to see her cry. It was like her secret weapon. All she had to do was turn on the waterworks and he'd do anything to make it stop. It was thousand times worse than a sick puppy. It was _Pepper_.

"That's not what I meant, Tony." She said, her voice trembling slightly.

"No, don't start this. We know where this conversation is going and we know we're no good for each other. Or, at least that I'm no good for you." Tony told her, setting the cracked scotch glass back on the counter before it wound up shattered in is his fist and he had to have Bruce pick out all the glass. He wouldn't appreciate that any more than Tony would.

"I know, you're right it's just…" Pepper said, her voice trailing off and tears now falling freely. "I worry about you, Tony." Steve must have decided the conversation was entirely too awkward for his virgin mind (in Tony's opinion at least) as he had vanished from the doorway.

"Don't." Tony said. "Go. You have a press conference in an hour. You'll be late." Tony ground out. He didn't want her to leave, but it was best for both of them if she did. Before they let their emotions pull them back together until another inevitable train wreck came along and ruined their relationship again. Granted, Tony Stark and his bullshit was usually that train wreck. But he knew that. He knew he didn't deserve her, and that he could never be what she needed. He was selfish at best and when it came between Pepper and Iron Man, he had chosen Iron Man. And there was no turning back. "Go, or it won't be my fault this time when the stocks plummet." He added, trying to keep the guilt out of voice. She sobbed and half ran into the elevator without even saying goodbye. Pepper would come around, she always did. They weren't together anymore, but she would always support Tony – once she got over being angry with him. But he could think about that after he drank himself into a coma to forget about her for a while, and more importantly her tears.

* * *

Bruce had spent the better part of the morning in his lab. Well, Tony's lab but the man insisted he'd built this floor just for Bruce. Part of him wanted to believe that, but the other half was sure Stark had ulterior motives. He'd been working on trying to develop a cure for himself, to be free from the Hulk. That was his own little secret of course. In a way, he wasn't sure he wanted to anymore. What use would he be to the avengers without the Hulk? And that terrified him. The super-secret boy band, as Tony put it sometimes, had become a family to him. A family that _accepted _him. He thought perhaps he could come up with something to control the transformations so he call upon the Hulk only when he was needed. …Hell, he might even be able to have a stable relationship if he managed that. Considering he was pretty much physically incapable of having sex without risking an incident, that would be a major improvement. So far, he'd come up empty-handed. But Bruce was nothing if not persistent, and he hadn't thrown in the towel just yet.

Grumbling to himself about failed formulas Bruce found his way to way to kitchen. He hadn't realized he'd skipped breakfast until after he'd escaped Tony and Pepper's fight over Loki. But, he could still hear them bickering in the kitchen, so he'd decided to wait. It wasn't his place to eavesdrop on Tony's failure of a private life – intentional or otherwise. It was quiet now, though. So Bruce figured it was safe. He helped himself to a cranberry muffin that he found in the fridge and went to go sit out in the lounge. When he saw Tony apparently passed out cold on the sofa with an empty bottle of vodka dangling from his limp hand, he wolfed half the muffin down and went to make sure the nutcase genius was still alive. He was, of course, but drunker than a skunk.

"Bruce, I don' undershtand." He slurred and looked up at Bruce who was frowning at him. "Nobody loves me." He said a little more coherently.

"You can be kind of an ass, Stark. Lots of people love you. Maybe not the way you want, but that's life." Bruce said and sat down beside him. He always a wreck after he and Pepper had any kind of personal discussion. Bruce figured _someone_ had to look after him once in a while. It might as well be him. "No offense, but commitment isn't your thing." Tony mumbled something inarticulate that sounded like he would be committed if he met the right person. Bruce sincerely doubted that. Either way, he put his arm across Tony's back and dragged him to his feet. Bruce supported Tony's weight as he stumbled into his bedroom and he deposited the intoxicated man on his bed. He grabbed a piece of paper from the nightstand and scribbled a note since he assumed Tony was too drunk to remember anything he told him. "Painkillers are in the kitchen cabinet above the microwave. Come to the lab when you wake up – bring coffee." He scribbled on the edge of what looked like a business card for somebody high up in Microsoft. He wondered for a moment if Stark industries was collaborating with Microsoft… Or if Stark was just trying to steal their tech. He knew that answer to that and just shook his head.

"You're a great guy, Tony, but you're too selfish. It isn't always about you." Bruce said to the semi-conscious genius. He mumbled something about Loki and curled up on his side. Bruce sighed and went to finish his muffin.

* * *

Robin had found that managing Loki's time wasn't that hard at all. He was mostly cooperative as well, much to her surprise. In the month that followed arriving in New York, she had Loki doing several different Volunteer jobs. The first day had been helping out a church thrift shop… which had gone swimmingly – considering Loki could be quite charming when he wanted to. And old the old ladies who worked there were won over easily. Robin had tried not gag. Loki apparently had taken that as insult, and made it a point to carry himself in a certain way, or give her a certain smile every now and then. And she'd be sitting there all flustered and wondering what the hell just happened and how in the flying fuck he was doing that to her. Mostly she thought she did a good job of ignoring it. …Until he came downstairs the one morning when the whole Avengerly gang was having breakfast together at the table in Tony's lounge.

He was wearing a light grey pinstripe three piece suit with a green tie and hair tied back neatly with a ribbon that matched his tie. Robin had looked up, met his eyes and he gave her this absolutely ridiculous shit eating grin. She had been eating a sesame bagel at the time, and her mouth went limp and it just sort of fell out of her hand and landed on the table. And everyone was looking at her, the little exchange had not been unnoticed and Clint had gone as far as saying she had been "compromised". Tony found it hilarious and literally fell out of his chair laughing until Natasha kicked him in the ribs. Loki had laughed too, and finished her bagel while she sat there in shock trying to rationalize what fucked up part of her mind thought it was okay to think he was hot. Because it was NOT okay. No way in hell.

But, back to the volunteer work. Aside from Loki's attempts at either seduction or some kind of cruel torture, it had been going well. They spent the most time at the food bank, since they constantly needed help. But they also worked in the homeless shelters. Sometimes they helped in the clinic where Bruce worked – when he wasn't on orders to stay at Stark tower because of Loki. When nothing was scheduled, they grabbed some garbage bags and picked up litter in the streets. These jobs had the added benefit of not only getting a lot of people to be comfortable with Loki being around, but the impact it had on him was obvious as well. Especially with working in the homeless shelters, Loki got to see firsthand the ugly results of the people he'd wronged. Some people said nasty things to him, but most were forgiving. They were happy to see him making an effort. That was worth much more to them than him sitting in a jail cell. Whatever the case, either Clint or Natasha stayed with them wherever they went. At first Robin had been annoyed by the spies' presence, but she became increasingly grateful. They were a couple of SHIELD's toughest agents, and members of the Avenger Initiative. …That meant _nobody_ messed with them aside from a few harsh words directed at Loki.

A month later, they were running out of new options and Robin got a job for Loki to work for a day at an animal shelter. It wasn't her first choice, but beggars couldn't be choosers. Besides, they were desperate enough for help that they didn't mind having a mass murderer in their midst. Robin also doubted Loki would have a problem with animals, it seemed to be humans that drove him up the wall. Hopefully they wouldn't wind up bringing anything home. Robin had a huge soft spot for animals and she always felt terrible for the homeless ones.

Mostly the day went by without any problems. Loki behaved himself and didn't complain once about having to clean out the dog kennels. Robin had to give him some credit for that, she would have been bitching about it like nobody's business. But then, he was wearing the clothes he borrowed from Tony a month ago (and never returned) instead of his own, since Robin warned him that it would be messy. Probably he felt some kind of sick gratification that Tony' clothes were going to smell like dog shit when he was done with them. Yeah, actually, she could see him thinking that. Clint had come along as well to keep an eye on Loki that day. He also seemed kind of amused that he was cleaning up dog shit in Tony's clothes while he and Robin did paperwork. It was around lunchtime when Loki came out to talk to them. And man did they smell him before they saw him. Both the spy and Robin instinctively scrunched up their noses and tried not to gag.

"What does it mean why they say they are going to put an animal down?" Loki asked, curiously. Robin and Clint made eye contact. She silently begged him to explain this one. Thinking about it was enough to make her nauseous. At least when she went hunting, the animal had a chance to escape. He must have gotten the hint and explained it as… gently as he could. Well, gently enough for a professional assassin.

"Well, when an animal is sick or it's been here too long and not found a home, they can't keep it anymore." Clint told Loki, hoping to God that he wouldn't lose it. "So they euthanize them."

"Euthanize them? What does that mean." Loki inquired. He wasn't sure what it meant, but he didn't like the sound of it. The archer sighed and fiddled with the sleeve on his sweatshirt that had the SHIELD logo on the back. Robin could tell he was hoping Loki wouldn't go batshit on him for this one. The God obviously loved animals as he had petted and spoken to every one he'd met so far.

"It means they kill them, humanely. You know, put them out of their misery." Clint said and winced at the look on Loki's face. As much as he hated the bastard, he couldn't help but feel bad.

"They only do it if there's no other option." Robin said, breaking the silence.

"No! I can save her!" Loki said, desperately. "She's sick but she's only a baby. I can nurse her back to health. Please!" Clint and Robin shared a shocked glance. Here was someone they both thought was a merciless killer, who was losing his shit over a sick animal. Clint rolled his eyes. Robin gave up. She was a sucker for animals, and somehow seeing Loki in such distress was worse than the big, sad eyes of any of the animals there. Not that she'd admit that, of course. Nope, never.

"All right, show me." She said, throwing her hands up in defeat. "But I swear to god if it's a mastiff or some giant ass dog, you can't have it." She added, getting up from the desk. Clint made a sound of disapproval and took her place with the paperwork. Robin could handle it, he was sure.

"Here, this one." Loki said pointing to a tiny black kitten that couldn't be more than two weeks old. It was in a cage by itself and curled up in a sad little ball. It, she according to Loki, was very lethargic and seemed to hardly be breathing. Robin wanted to kick something. She hated seeing sick animals and she had a serious weakness for cats. And the poor thing needed desperately to be in a nice warm, quiet place to get better. …Not sleeping on the bottom of a cold metal cage surrounded by the deafening din of cats mewling and dogs barking. She fidgeted uncomfortably, just as the manager for the shelter walked in.

"Jane, do you have a moment?" She asked, wincing. The stern looking older woman glanced her way and nodded. "This kitten is going to be euthanized, yes?" Robin asked.

"Yes, it's too sick and still nursing. Our funding's been cut so we can't afford to have a vet look at it and medicines and God knows what else. It's not a nice thing to do, but we have to. Did Loki give you the paperwork to fill out for it?" Jane explained, rifling through a pile of papers in her hands. Loki couldn't quite understand how someone who shared the name of Thor's beloved mortal could be so unlike Jane Foster. Something about this woman was outright cold and calculating.

"No, he didn't. Um, what if I took it?" Robin asked hopefully. "I know how to take care of kittens. There aren't any other animals in the household." Jane glared at her in a manner that clearly said "no". Loki sighed and went over by the kitten. He stuck his fingers through the cage bars and gently stroked her tiny head. He was rewarded with the faintest purr and felt despair come crashing down on him. He couldn't even save a baby animal. What good was he? Robin noticed him out of the corner of her eye and looked back at Jane.

"Please?" she whispered so Loki couldn't hear. "I mean, for God's sake _look_ at him. A grown ass man nearly crying over a kitten." Jane rolled her eyes.

"I can't just – " She snapped.

"Please!" Robin wheedled, cutting her off.

"You can't save them all, you know!" Jane said in a stern, definitive tone.

"I know that. But I _can _save this one." Robin retorted. "No one has to know!" She added.

"Fine, if you keep quiet. But only because it's cheaper than Euthanizing it. You can take it at the end of the day." Jane half snarled and left the room after giving Loki orders to change the cat litter pans. Ouch. She must really be pissed to make him do that. Robin let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"You owe me, Reindeer Games." She said to Loki, using Stark's preferred nickname for the demi-god. He rolled his eyes, but thanked her quietly before getting back to work. He still looked to be on the verge of tears. The rest of the day passed relatively uneventfully. When they left Loki, Clint and Robin all piled into her Grand AM – Loki with a tiny ball of black fur curled up in his hands and held tightly against his chest. Robin thought Loki's fixation with the kitten was adorable, Clint kind of thought it was nauseating. He made no further comments though. Not after Loki threatened to strangle him with his own entrails if he hurt the kitten, or said anything else bad about it. Clint was suitably cowed, but Robin burst out laughing at the image. Somehow, she doubted Loki would do it. That wasn't to say he wouldn't get revenge somehow, though. …And it probably would be anything but pleasant for Clint.

"…Thank you." Loki said when they'd gotten back to Stark Tower and Clint was well out earshot.

"I never would have guessed you had such a soft spot for animals." Robin observed as the entered the elevator after Jarvis opened the doors for them. Loki leaned against the wall and sighed heavily.

"I lied about Sleipnir." He said, awkwardly. Robin just stared in disbelief. "Not that it really has much to do with animals, just… I did give birth to Sleipnir. He is no dumb beast, though. He is a shape shifter like me. Or he was."

"Was?" Robin asked meekly as they stepped out of the elevator on their floor.

"When he was born, I was away from Asgard. When I returned I kept his birth a secret to everyone but my mother. I only told her because I had no idea how to care for a child, and she helped me. But somehow Odin found out and… He took him from me. He took away his powers and he was forced into the shape of the eight legged steed. Though, he was born in an Aesir form like my own. I had been forbidden to see him, and neither Thor nor my mother could get Odin to return Sleipnir to me. He said I was better off, that to have an illegitimate child would bring me shame. I didn't particularly care. Though, Thor seemed to think that it was justification and told me to get over it. I never did." Loki explained, miserably. "He was born just before I learned of my true heritage as a frost giant. I don't even know if he remembers me." Robin had a hard time believing that. Not because she thought Loki was lying to her, but because what kind of man that expected his adopted son to see him as a father would do something like that? Yet, she could see from the very genuine sadness in Loki's eyes that it was true. Robin knew in the legends it said that Loki gave Sleipnir to Odin as a gift. But the myths apparently had their timelines all screwed up, and 'gift' was definitely not the word for it. Either way, if it were her she'd have killed Odin for taking her child from her - consequences be damned.

"I'm not saying what you've done to New York, and in Asgard was right in any way… But I think I understand a bit more now. If it had been me, I don't know what I would have done. Probably something similar if it was within my power, honestly. I have a tendency to hate everyone anyway." Robin said, for lack of anything to say and wanting somehow to console him. Because he just looked so _sad_ and that was not Loki. …At least not the Loki she thought she knew by then.

"I know what I _should _have done." Loki replied and sat on the couch, snuggling the kitten close. "But I was afraid to defy Odin." He didn't know why he told her about Sleipnir. Not when it caused him so much pain. At first, he hated the child growing within him. He hated the damn stallion Svadilfari, that raped him while in the form of a mare while he lured him away from Asgard. That was Odin's fault, too. It was all Loki's fault, somehow that their trick played on that Giant had blown up in their faces. Of _course_ it was his fault. But in time, he was able to love Sleipnir. He understood that the child wasn't the one who had hurt him. When he gave birth to him, aided by the elven healers in Alfheim, Loki had dared to believe that it was all going to be all right. …That it would all work itself out somehow. Even Frigga had accepted it all without a second thought and held him close. _Oh don't worry, Loki! All will be well! _She'd said and kissed Sleipnir's forehead. He tried to dash these thoughts from his mind and went to take a shower, leaving the kitten with Robin. He couldn't think about Frigga now. Thinking of her felt like rubbing salt in a raw wound. And unlike Stark, Loki was not one to drown himself in his cups. It wasn't worth the nausea and headache the morning after.

One he'd finally figured out how to work the contraption on his third day at Stark tower, Loki rather enjoyed using the shower. It was much better than wallowing in lukewarm water that soaked up all the day's filth. He wasn't sure how he felt about having to share the bathroom with Robin, though. There was only one bathroom on their floor. The heat felt good on his skin; he was surprised how much his muscles ached from the work he did at the animal shelter. Being mortal really was a nightmare. _How do mortals live like this? _He asked himself as he washed his body somewhat methodically with lathery soap that smelled of lavender flowers. He stayed in there even after the water went cold, to him it was still comfortable. When he finally emerged, the bathroom was filled with steam. He stretched contentedly, feeling much better than he had been a little while ago. Absently he reached for his towels, and frowned. In their place was a certain completely impractical pair of sparkly pink women's undergarments.

Loki felt like he should be disgusted that Robin had actually pulled that off, but instead he laughed. He choked on it, not sure what he was feeling. It wasn't hollow or meaningless, and had taken him completely by surprise. Robin was not half the prankster he was, though. She left the towels in the closet. Good for her, he supposed. He didn't think she'd want to see him waltzing out into their living room wearing that offending pink thing. Such a shame. …Not that he thought he would fit into it, anyway. She didn't steal his clothes, though. He preferred to just leave them in his own room and wrap himself in a towel. Though this was mostly to antagonize Robin. The way her eyes followed him when left the bathroom with just a towel around his waist and his wet hair clinging to his shoulders and back had not been lost upon him. Or for that matter, the way she stared when he wore his formal suit and tie outfits. He knew she liked what she saw but Robin would admit it over her dead body. Not that he minded that either. He had no desire to bed her – just to torment her with the effect he knew was having on her. And this little prank she'd pulled – it wasn't malicious or meant to irritate him, somehow he knew that. It was Robin's way of saying: "Cheer up tall dark and snarky! It's gonna be fine." In many ways, she thought and behaved just like he did – but with more logic and plotting and less impulse.

"I believe this belongs to you, hmm?" Loki said, dropping the sparkly pink panties in Robin's lap and giving her that same shit eating grin he'd given her the first time she saw him in a suit. She had the kitten curled up snuggly on her chest. She looked up with a mischievous smile and noticed with shock that he was not only standing over her half-naked but dripping water from his hair onto her shoulder. She swallowed hard and looked up at him, blushing. _How precious. _Loki thought and leaned forward a little more to pet the kitten while at the same time a few locks of his hair fell forward against Robin's cheek. Her eyes widened and she sat upright to get away from him. Loki chuckled softly. Now _this_ was fun.

"When you're done trying - and failing – to seduce me, go put your damn clothes on and come back out here. Let's have Bruce take a look at your kitten. He'll know what to do with her, probably." She said, fuming. "He should be in his lab. It's the fourth floor, I think." Loki gave her a sly wink and positively _strutted _into his room. He could feel her eyes on him and smiled triumphantly. Robin's attempt at gagging that sounded more a badly concealed moan made him laugh softly to himself while he dressed.

"I don't believe you." He said eventually, breaking the silence as the elevator traveled down a few floors a short while later.

"Don't believe what?" Robin asked, leaning against the wooden railing. She tried to look anywhere but at him. Who the hell would have thought she apparently had a kink for long, wet hair. She bit her lip and tried to think about _anything _else. He was the enemy. She was not going to sleep with the enemy. But was he the enemy?

"What you said about not being a virgin." Loki said bluntly. Before she could even help it, her eyes widened she felt her face turn beet red.

"I am _not_." She said, knowing it was futile as the elevator stopped.

"What you are not, Little Bird, is a good liar. At least not when it comes to certain things." Loki said with a positively evil smirk and exited the elevator. Robin followed him wishing she could just melt into the floor and pretend she never went to High Point that day. Damn him. Damn him to hell.


	7. Forgiveness

**Notes:** I do wonder if there's such a thing as overkill when it comes to spending WAY too much time on character development. Is that a thing...? Anyway, kind of an angsty chapter but not too bad. :3 I hope Robin isn't turning into a Sue.

Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming, your feedback really helps!

* * *

**Chapter 7: Forgiveness**

* * *

"How was babysitting?" Natasha asked, giving Clint a bored look. They were sitting alone in Tony's lounge drinking coffee. Natasha was fiddling with her cellphone that she'd broken somehow. Clint didn't ask. He didn't have to. He knew odds were she got tired of Fury calling and threw it against a wall. That happened a lot.

"Loki cleaned up dog shit in Tony's clothes. Oh, and cried over a sick kitten. What's Fury want now?" Clint replied and pointed at her broken phone. She raised her eyebrows. Natasha thought she should ask how he knew it was Fury or if Loki was literally crying, but she reconsidered. Odds were she didn't want to know – on either account.

"I'm not sure. One of the satellites picked up a weird energy signature upstate somewhere but he can't get a clear reading. He wanted Stark to look into it, but he's up in Bruce's lab so hung-over he can't see straight. And Jarvis won't let me access anything to do it myself." Natasha answered, annoyed. "He drank a whole bottle of Smirnoff, two martinis and half a bottle of scotch. Shouldn't that much alcohol kill him?" She continued in an aggravated tone.

"You would think so, but hey this _is _Stark we're talking about. What did his stocks take a shit again or something?" Clint asked, and dug his phone out of a pocket in his cargo pants. He might as well call Fury and get the daily report over with.

"No, he was fighting with his CEO. The one he used to date, apparently." Natasha told him. "It was kind of pathetic." Clint just rolled his eyes as he waited for Fury to pick up. At least with him and Natasha there wasn't any of that sappy crap. When they fought, they got over it and didn't bring it up a month later to try and prove a point. Though, their fights tended to be a little more on the violent side which _usually_ led to angry make-up sex. Because that just always made everything better.

Eventually the call went straight to Fury's voicemail. Clint hung up and tried again, to the same result. That wasn't right. If you'd asked him, the archer would say Fury didn't even _have _a voicemail since he'd honestly never reached it before. Fury always answered the phone, no matter what time of day or night. That couldn't be a good sign.

"Did you know Fury has a voicemail?" Clint asked, feeling a tiny bit worried.

"No." Natasha replied, suddenly wondering if she should have dragged Stark's ass into his workshop regardless of his alcohol induced coma.

"Did he say anything else about this energy signature he was looking into?" Clint inquired, making uncertain eye contact.

"No." Natasha said again. Her face was completely blank of any emotion and her eyes seemed distant. Clint knew what that meant, she was thinking something over with everything she worth, and she was nervous. The only time Natasha never showed any sign of emotion was when something had gotten under her skin. That was, obviously, not often. And Clint was probably the only other human being in existence that knew her well enough to see it. "We need to find Stark. I don't care if he is dying from alcohol poisoning."

* * *

Tony sipped at his coffee somewhat absently while he watched Bruce work. He'd always thought of himself as being the eccentric that never left his workshop. Bruce, on the other hand, took it the extreme. Tony would swear he only emerged for food and sleep; the lab had its own bathroom so there wasn't even that. Bruce was furiously scribbling equations in a battered looking college ruled notebook, one of those chunky five subject deals. It was beyond Tony why he didn't just use the laptop that was closed and powered down on the table next to him. Or, you know, just ask Jarvis since he had given Bruce nearly unrestricted access to the AI months ago when he first started staying there. Thinking about it, Tony had no idea what Bruce was even working on. Eventually, his curiosity got the better of him.

"What are you doing, anyway? Trying to solve the meaning of life through algebraic expression?" Tony inquired, trying to make sense of the scribbles. He understood the math, but he had no idea what the actual variables represented.

"For me, it might as well be the meaning of life." Bruce replied vaguely. "It's a personal project, sorry. One I've been working on for years now and getting nowhere. I don't really want to talk about it much, but having someone else to talk to at all is nice."

"I could help, you know." Tony said somewhat smugly.

"What do you know about Gamma radiation?" Bruce asked rhetorically, but smiled slightly without looking up from his equations.

"Enough to get by with my tinkering, but I _am _a genius. Sometimes it's the person who doesn't know jack shit that gets the right answer. Maybe you're looking in the wrong places?" Tony suggested, leaning forward against the edge of the lab counter between them. He wondered if laying his head against the cold metal surface would help his raging headache any.

"I doubt the answer is at the bottom of a bottle of Jack Daniels." Bruce said with a bit of humor. Tony snorted and held his head in his hands. He wanted to laugh, but it wasn't worth the throbbing backlash from the headache.

"Nah, it's at the bottom of a bottle of Crown Royal if it has to be whiskey." Tony said after some time passed by. Deep in thought, Bruce didn't reply. Tony studied him as he tapped the eraser end of his pencil on the counter repeatedly as he pondered something intensely.

"Alcohol. Is a depressant." Bruce said finally, and tapped the eraser a little faster. "Maybe…" He ripped the page out of the notebook and tossed it aside as he started scribbling new equations, completely oblivious to everything around him. Tony raised his eyebrows while he wondered if he was like that then when he was working. Somehow, watching Bruce's furious scribbling, punctuated occasionally by swearing when something didn't balance out, was oddly soothing to Tony. He just watched him for a while, until the bell rang for the elevator behind them. He looked up frowning. He hoped it wasn't Natasha again. He wasn't SHIELD's errand boy and Fury forcing him to stay until the Loki thing was sorted was seriously interfering with his plans for Stark Industries. Bruce didn't notice and kept working. _It must be like some kind of meditation to be able to focus like that. _Tony thought as he watched Loki and Robin step out of the elevator. Robin looked like a wreck, but he knew that look. He was known for driving 90% of the female population into a similar state like it was second nature to him. Basically, She was a hot mess of sexual frustration and really pissed about it. But he knew the cause was standing right next to her. He just didn't know _why_ Loki was trying so hard (and miserably failing) to get into her pants. If Tony was honest about it, and Loki had been doing that him, it would have yesterday's news that he'd copulated with the enemy. And he wasn't even gay. Loki was damn good at it what he was doing. So either Robin was oblivious as fuck or hated him enough to not let him touch her. Tony had a pretty good idea of which option that was, if not a combination of both.

"Oh no, no, no. What is that and why is it my tower?" He asked, pointing at the kitten curled up in Loki's hands when he noticed it. "No pets allowed, Reindeer Games." It was so small it fit in the palm of one hand easily. Loki glared daggers at him, but just as he opened his mouth to speak, Bruce broke the silence.

"I hate it when you're right, Tony. It's incomplete, but I think it might wo – " Bruce began saying but stopped when he saw Loki with Robin following him at a distance. "Yes, can I help you with something?"

"She is sick, can you help her?" Loki said, putting the kitten on the counter as far away from Tony as physically possible. Robin sat in the chair next to Tony and actually did lean forward and rest her head on the table. Though, he had a feeling she had a headache of an entirely different sort. The kitten wobbled on its little paws and looked up at sadly at Tony with its little blue eyes that had must have just opened in the past few days. He winced.

"Yeah, all right fine, you manipulative little shit. You can stay. Now don't make me feel like any more of a jerk." Tony said to the kitten. It cried weakly. Robin stifled a giggle. "Oh God please. Bruce, just fix it. I can't take it." Tony moaned and hid his face in his hands. He could see Loki smile ever so slightly out of the corner of his eye. Bruce sighed and scooped the kitten up into his hands. After a few minutes of carefully prodding her and listening to her heart, he handed her back to Loki.

"It's just a respiratory infection." He explained. "We'll give her some antibiotics and she'll be fine. She's too young to be away from her mother, though. You'll have to feed her milk with a bottle; she can't eat solid food yet." Robin had already known they'd need to bottle feed the kitten and picked up the necessary things at a pet shop on the way home. Loki sighed in relief. He really had no idea why he was so worried about the little creature, but maybe Tony's comment had been correct. Loki wasn't sure how he felt about being manipulated – that was _his _job.

"Thank you. I will take care of her." Loki said and held the kitten close. Bruce frowned in confusion as he mixed the antibiotics into a dose that wouldn't kill the poor thing. Did Loki actually _care _about something? A living thing that he would surely consider being below humans no less. Interesting.

"Put 1/8 of a teaspoon of this into her milk twice a day. I'll keep an eye on her and we'll figure out how long she needs to take it. It shouldn't be any longer than a few days." Bruce said and handed a small vial of powder of Robin. "Either way it should clear up the infection and she'll be swinging off the curtains in no time."

"Ugh. I don't want to hear that. If that thing makes a mess I expect you to clean it up, Princess." Tony said glaring at Loki who glared right back with everything he had.

"Oh come on Tony, it's just a kitten. A _sick _kitten." Bruce chided him in a sarcastic way. Tony glared at him in mock annoyance.

"You should get one, they're so much less trouble than one night stands and when all else fails, they make good drinking companions." Robin said, finally lifting her head from the counter. "They _are_ manipulative as fuck, though."

"Just like a woman. But one you can't get rid of. No thanks." Tony said and rolled his eyes as the bell for the elevator rang. "Please be Steve. Please be St – damn it." Tony muttered as Clint and Natasha stepped into the room.

"Stark If you're done being a diva, we need access to your tech." Natasha said getting straight to the point and explained what she knew. They were looking for an unusual energy signature that was not registered in the SHIELD databases and had occurred that afternoon somewhere upstate.

"No coordinates? Just upstate?" He asked Skeptically. "Can't you call Fury and at least get me that much to go on?" He whined.

"He's not picking up." Clint said.

"Oh. What is he dead or something? I swear his phone is his fifth limb. That can't be good. Jarvis, get on it. Start with hacking the nearest SHIELD satellite, and give me a readout of any anomalies in the last twenty four hours. Keep to a five hundred mile radius. Use SHIELD database information and cross reference it with our own. Bring it all up down in the workshop." Tony said to the AI.

"As you wish, sir. The results should be ready in four minutes and twenty seven seconds." Came the reply.

"Right then, party in the workshop bring your own booze." Tony said off-handedly and swayed a little on his feet as he left. "Robin Hood, you and Reindeer Games better go find dinner or something. Believe me kids, you don't want to get mixed up in SHIELD's crap."

* * *

Robin was a bit angry that she couldn't listen in on the excitement. But she got over it quickly while trying to teach Loki how to feed the kitten. She was so grateful for the little ball of fur that there just were no words. Loki would be way too preoccupied nursing her back to health to think of his usual routine of harassing her. Or so she hoped.

"You've got to name her, you know." She said as she watched Loki feed her with the little bottle. For something so sickly, she had quite an appetite.

"I will call her Frigga." He said a little bit hesitantly after some time.

"Frigga?" Robin asked, curiously. "After the Goddess of fertility?"

"After my mother, who yes is – was – the goddess you speak of." Loki explained. "I think she would be fond of this little creature if she had been able to see it." Robin thought it was interesting that Loki thought of Odin's wife as his mother without the slightest hesitation. But from she'd managed to get him to say about her, it seemed like she was the only one Loki thought actually cared about him. Or at least, the only person that there was there for him when he needed it most. Either way, he was very fond of her. Robin didn't want to think about losing her mother, even if they had grown apart over the years. Though, Jarvis thankfully saved the conversation from getting any more awkward.

"Miss Sheffield, there is a visitor. I would ask Mr. Stark to attend to him, but he his busy with SHIELD's work. Please see to it as you are technically the administrator of Stark Tower." Jarvis said.

"A visitor, this time at night?" Robin asked curiously and looked at the clock on the wall near the elevator. It was just after eight thirty. "Hm. Be right back." She said to Loki.

"Be careful, it seems suspicious." He said, looking out the window. It seemed to be storming in the distance. Something about that seemed ominous. It wasn't quite summer yet. It was too early for thunderstorms. Robin frowned, thinking of the day she met Loki. Did that mean someone else had traveled through the Bifrost? She admitted she didn't know anything about it other than what Loki had told her.

"I'll be fine. Natasha taught me to fight, remember?" She said, smiling. That had been an adventure. She and Natasha didn't really get along. Not that they really fought about anything, but they wouldn't be sitting together at the bar anytime soon. She'd learned a lot. Clint had taught her a few tricks for her archery as well. She was damn good at it, according to him, but they both knew she had nothing on his sheer talent with a bow. She was pretty sure he'd said he was impressed entirely for her sake. When she got downstairs to the deserted ground floor and answered the door, she was more than a little surprised to see who was there.

"Greetings! I do not believe we have met. Who might you be?" Asked an absolute behemoth of a man that Robin easily identified from both the news and the Avengers' stories as Thor – brother of Loki. She just stared for a moment. She could easily understand why the ancients thought of him as a God. Aside from his stature and impressive muscular form, he seemed to exude a sense of confidence and sovereignty.

"Uh, hi. I'm Robin. I am the manager for Stark Tower. Could I help you?" She asked, not quite sure what to say. Surely he was allowed to come and go as he pleased like the rest, right?

"Ah, I see. Like a maidservant?" He asked, curiously.

"Uh, no. Actually, yeah pretty much. Just with better pay." Robin replied. _I hate my life. _She said to herself. It was mostly true, though. She was paid unbelievably well, but she sent most of it home to mother who needed it more. In general most of her time had been spent looking after Loki, but she had taken care of some issues with Tony's personal accounts. ...And was in the process of having the floor that Bruce remodeled with Loki's face repaired. Tony decided he felt shitty about leaving it that way when Loki wasn't exactly bent on world domination any more.

"I am Thor of Asgard, God of thunder and son of Odin. I must seek the council of the mighty Avengers for the safety of Midgard is threatened." Thor explained. "The computer would not let me in, though."

"I apologize Mr. Odinson." Jarvis replied. "The security is on lock-down as it seems Mr. Stark may already be aware of this threat. So I asked Miss Sheffield here to let you in."

"Thank you, computer." Thor replied, looking up at the ceiling in gratitude as he entered behind Robin. She tried not giggle. Loki grasped technology with ease. Thor on the other hand seemed like an awkward senior citizen who thought it might bite him.

"Thor, this threat… does it have to do with Loki?" Robin asked cautiously and found herself hoping to hell it didn't. Not only for her sake, but because she was actually starting to think he was getting his shit together. She was actually starting to _care _about him. And damn if that didn't scare the shit out of her. Thor gave a glare that was an odd mixture of pain and mistrust.

"Not that I am aware of. But I will confess that I do not know of his location." Thor said sadly. "I had hoped I might check up on him after father banished him to atone for his crimes. But I could not as he gave Heimdall orders not to tell me where he is. He does not want me to help him."

"He's upstairs." Robin said simply and had to admit she loved the look of utter shock on Thor's face.

"Take me to him." Thor said, no, demanded. She nodded and led him into the elevator. When they got to their floor, Loki was standing by the window watching the thunderstorm draw nearer. Frigga was sleeping soundly on the sofa wrapped up in a towel. She seemed to be breathing easier at least.

"I hate storms." He muttered as he heard Robin get off the elevator.

"Not fond of what follows? That was what you said once, was it not? Brother?" Loki gasped and turned around so fast he nearly lost his balance. For a moment, he just stared at Thor. Then, he panicked.

"Why are you here? I thought I was doing the right thing. Please don't take me back there! I can still do this. I think I can, anyway." Loki burst out and backed up against the window. He knew he had no hope of beating Thor in a fight, but he would rather die than return to Asgard willingly when the headsman's axe would be all that was waiting for him. He would rather die with dignity – his idea of dignity.

"Calm down, Loki. I am not here to bring you back to Asgard. Honestly, I am not here call upon you at all. It is a coincidence. I am… Not supposed to know where you are. Father does not wish me for to aid you in any way." Thor explained. "But Loki, for now, no matter what – promise me you will not remove Gungnir from the stone. Not even if you are worthy! And do not leave this tower, either!"

"I don't understand. What is going on?" The trickster asked, relaxing and coming to closer to Thor. "Can I help at all?" He added, somewhat hesitantly. His offer of help must have surprised Thor as much as it did Robin since he stared at Loki in shock for a moment before speaking.

"No, there is nothing you can do." He told Loki. "And right now it is probably best I tell you nothing. I will speak with the others first. Computer, can you take me to Anthony Stark?"

"Yes sir, enter the elevator." Thor left them without another word.

"He is afraid I will fight for the wrong side. It isn't that he thinks I can't be of help." Loki said, breaking the silence.

"And if you had your powers back now, what side would fight for?" Robin asked. "The one with most benefit to you, I think. And that may not be the right side. But that's the thing, Loki. Right and wrong are entirely subjective. The bad guy doesn't think he's the bad guy."

"If that were true, I wouldn't be here." He answered coldly.

"I meant that you need to decide what feels right to you. Does it feel like you're doing the right thing cleaning up your mess? Or, would you rather rub our faces in it and laugh while you did it?" Robin asked and flopped down on the sofa by Frigga. She stirred slightly but didn't seem to mind. "That's what you need to think about. And not for nothing, but you're the God of mischief. If you want to help, I would be shocked if you couldn't find a way to do so – even if no one _wants _you to."

"I already know the answer to that. Though it is quite different than the one I would have given you when you first brought me here." Loki replied thoughtfully. "What is it that you desire above all else? Power, fame or maybe unending wealth? Everyone wants something they are not meant to have." He asked Robin with a serious tone.

"I suppose I want to be loved. I don't really care about wealth or fame. Money isn't enough to make me happy. And I wouldn't be much use in a position of power. I tend to follow others, taking the reins never ends well for me." She answered after a tense pause. "But don't get any ideas. I said _loved, _not fucked silly." He laughed at that, and her indignant expression.

"Being fucked silly, as you mortals put it, isn't necessarily such a bad thing. But if all you desire is to be loved, then why do you push others away?" Loki inquired, sitting next to her on the couch. "You'll die a virgin at that rate." He added with a touch of his usual disposition. Robin glared daggers at him but he only shrugged. She sighed in exasperation and looked away.

"I don't know, Loki. Why do you do the same thing even though I get the feeling that all you want is to be loved?" She snapped and fiddled with her shirt sleeve.

"You didn't answer the question." Loki said pointedly. She huffed and decided she might as well answer. He'd harass her until he got it – one way or another. Just telling him was less painful than finding another rubber snake in her underwear drawer. Robin decided she was going to murder Clint for letting him buy those at that dollar store.

"Because getting too close to people usually just means it's going to hurt that much more when they stab me in the back or... If they die." She answered miserably. "Everyone I've ever let get close enough to know me that well has only wound up hurting me in the end. Even my mother and she's all I have left. Well, except for Sam, but… You took care of that. Not that I would have ever wanted to be in romantic relationship with him. That would be like marrying my brother."

"What about your father? You never mentioned him that I can recall." Loki said, curiously. He realized while he asked her these questions that he did really know next to nothing about Robin. She was _that _good at keeping people at an arm's length and letting their imagination fill in the gaps. He'd noticed that, just not the extent of it. Which meant, knowing his own tendency to do the same, that he probably wouldn't get anything else out of her about it. Well, it was still worth trying.

"I don't remember my father much." She told him, quietly. "I know that he was a soldier in the Marine Corps. He went away one day and never came back. My mother remarried when I was ten. My step-father was an asshole. He was abusive. While I can say he never did anything to me sexually, he sure as hell beat the shit out of me more times than I can count. I cried at his funeral, though. Not for him, because I know my mother loved him even though he treated both of us like dirt. He was the one who taught me how to hunt with a bow. It was the only time I didn't actively hate the man. He only tolerated me. He'd have rather gotten rid of me somehow if he could have. I was so happy when he died. But I still hate him. Because he left us with nothing and I had to give up the only thing I was still living for because of him. ...Sam's dream of being an archaeologist. I guess if you don't screw things up worse for me, I'll make enough money as Stark's errand bitch to go back to college."

"You don't have any friends? What about siblings?" Loki asked. He hated how much this story was starting to sound like his own.

"You killed the only one." Robin replied. He sighed and leaned back against the couch. "Well, the only I would call a 'friend'. And no, I am an only child."

"Why did you help me?" Loki pressed. Somehow, he couldn't figure it out. Robin didn't seem the type of person to get involved in things that didn't concern her. She'd said herself that she was not one to take control of anything. And considering what her life had been like, and what he'd done to her himself when he killed her friend, he just couldn't fit the pieces together. If it were him, he would not have been so merciful. Perhaps now he would, but never in the past would mercy have so much as crossed his mind.

"I guess I was looking for some reason to try and tell myself that I'm not a waste of space. ...That I have some kind of purpose. I wanted to find some kind of meaning in my life. And Sam would have wanted it. He saw the good in everyone. If he were here, he'd be the one helping you and he'd never give up. I also did something really, really bad and maybe I need to make some amends of my own." Robin explained. "I think I… Need a drink. Margarita?"

"Yes, please." Loki didn't normally drink and he had no idea what a margarita was, but he could sometimes see the merit in it. No less plainly than he understood Robin's reasoning. All that he'd done was a hopeless search for meaning. When he had Sleipnir, he thought he'd found that meaning. But it was all taken from him when Odin took his son from him and when he discovered his true heritage soon after. But she spoke of wanting to be loved above all else. Was that not what he sought as well? Was claiming the throne of Asgard his way of gaining that, even if it was just false adoration? Yes. He couldn't lie to himself, not about that. That was why it hurt so much to lose Frigga. She was the only person who really loved him. He was sure Thor cared about him in a way, but not the way his mother had. Loki hadn't even noticed Robin returning from the bar until she thrust his drink into his hand. It had a tangy, citrus flavor and he had to admit that he liked it a lot.

"I am sorry." He said finally. "But what horrible thing did you do that you feel you need to reconcile?"

"I don't want your pity." Robin muttered bitterly and completely ignored the other question. Realizing he'd reached her limit, Loki let it drop.

"I was not expressing pity, I was apologizing for my actions. What I did to you was no better than what Odin did to me." Loki said as the bell for the elevator dinged. "If that is Thor I will murder him for his timing." He hissed under his breath.

"You and me both." Robin sighed. But it wasn't Thor. It was Tony. His brow was creased in worry, but he was doing his damnedest to put on his usual easy going expression. "Well, where's the fire?" She asked, trying to act as composed as she could.

"It's not as big of a deal as you'd think. Some teenagers got ahold of government tech." Tony said with a shrug. Anyway, we still don't know where Fury is. So, I need you two to keep things in order here. I don't know how long we'll be gone. Behave yourself Reindeer Games. It's Robin Hood's head that'll be rolling if you get in trouble." He told them and left. Loki hated himself, for the first time based not on his heritage, but his actions. She'd put everything on the line for him and while he worked to make his amends, he'd been nothing but an ass to her.

"He's lying." Loki and Robin said in unison. But what choice did they have now? If they were going to be the only ones in Stark Tower, they couldn't leave except for small errands.

"Of course he is. If there was not a major problem, they would not leave me unattended." Loki observed, stating the painfully obvious.

"I need to be alone." Robin said and vanished into her room. Loki stayed in the living area for a while holding Frigga, but went his own way as well when he couldn't stand to hear her crying on the other side of the door anymore.

"I forgive you." Robin whispered when she heard Loki finally leave and go to bed. "I still hate you more than anything, but I forgive you."

"She will never forgive me." Loki murmured to Frigga who was cuddled up on his chest. "I have no idea why knowing that hurts so much, or why I _want_ her to forgive me so badly." He couldn't seem to get it out of his mind that she had mentioned that her mother had hurt her in the past but had not elaborated on it. He wondered what that meant, and if it was similar to his own past like their less than stellar fathers. Frigga had only ever had good intentions where he was concerned, but that did not mean that she had never hurt him. The same could be said of Thor, more so of Thor. Loki knew better than anyone that the best of intentions could cause the worst damage.


	8. Sacrifice

**Notes:** Wanted: volunteers to give poor Loki a hug after you read this chapter. :c He really needs it. Anyway, stuff's happening. Oh gosh.

**Warning:** Violence.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Sacrifice**

* * *

When morning finally came, Robin felt miserable. She always hated it when she cried herself to sleep. It was never restful and Gods only knew what kind of mess Tony had left for her. But that was what she hated about working for Stark. ...And why she dreaded the day when she would be done with Loki. Eventually she would be in control of Tony's personal accounts and everything to do with Stark Tower. She didn't handle that kind of responsibility well. If she had, her stepfathers' business that she'd taken over wouldn't have tanked. Stretching stiffly she dragged herself out of bed and into the shower. She took her sweet time in there as she pondered over what she'd have to do keep everything in order while the others were away. She'd have to do the cleaning for one. With the tower on lock-down Jarvis wouldn't let the cleaning service in. At least it was just the two of them and Loki was an insane neat freak, so she didn't have to worry about him. _Loki_. She swore under her breath. She forgave him. She had to. She couldn't possibly keep harboring that grudge knowing how much he regretted it. In spite of everything, he'd gotten under her skin. Now she just needed to wait for the dagger in the back – it always came when she let herself trust someone. _Trusting the God of lies... What the fuck is wrong with me, anyway? _She asked herself as she got dressed.

Loki was already in the sitting room with Frigga when Robin decided to stop avoiding him. He was dressed in one of his nicer outfits – a three piece black business suit with a green and gold striped tie. He hadn't noticed her when she entered and was staring out the window with an oddly vacant expression. It was definitely unusual for him to look so… _vulnerable_. That unsettled her somewhat.

"How is Frigga this morning?" She asked, deciding to use the cautious route. She may have forgiven him, but she had no intention of telling him that yet. It would go straight to his head. He startled slightly and sighed. For a moment he held his silence.

"She is well. Much better than yesterday." He answered, sounding subdued. He seemed depressed for lack of a better word. Also unlike him. He was no stranger to depression, but he hid it well. Usually. Robin regarded him curiously before sitting down beside him. Gently, she ruffled Frigga's inky black fur. She purred quietly and nuzzled her hand. That was a good sign, she was getting better quickly.

"Did you give her the medicine this morning?" Robin asked. He nodded but said nothing. "Is something wrong?" She asked him worriedly.

"Nothing really but..." Loki started to say and stared through the window with a mixture of anger, sadness and quite possibly rejection. "Thor never so much as said goodbye before he ran off with the others. I thought he would, at least." He finally muttered when Robin did not look away.

"Maybe he was afraid you'd trick him into telling us about what's going on. Or, hell, maybe the others wouldn't _let_ him come back up here for just that reason." Robin suggested.

"I had not thought of that." Loki replied, thoughtfully. "You are probably right. I was partially hoping he would come back for that reason, myself. He would sing like a bird without the faintest clue he had told me anything of use." Robin snorted. She didn't doubt it. Thor seemed like one of those genuinely kindhearted people that were just too nice for their own good. She knew how to work with that. She didn't even need Loki's silver tongue; she'd have gotten it out of him herself easily enough.

"Let's go find some breakfast. We're going to have to run out to the bank. The damn contractor that fixed the floor upstairs only wants cash. I guess he thinks the great Tony Stark's check is going to bounce or something." Robin said, patting his shoulder lightly in her best attempt at reassuring him. Really, that was something she'd never been good at. Sympathy was just not something Robin knew how to express. Well, sympathy among other awkward emotions, but it was one of things she was the worst at. Loki must have noticed, judging by the look he gave her. She just smiled sheepishly and led the way to the elevator. Loki carefully deposited Frigga on the sofa and assured her that he would be home shortly.

On the table in the lounge where they usually had their meals together, Robin found a note from Tony. Basically they were not to leave the tower unless absolutely necessary. He didn't give an estimation of how long they'd be away – only a very serious suggestion to keep Loki away from his porn stash. She rolled her eyes. Considering what Loki had told her about his... exploits, she sincerely doubted there would be anything in there he hadn't seen before. Though still, like hell if she she wanted to know. Clint had scribbled his phone number on the back of it they needed anything because the odds that Tony would answer his phone were worse than getting struck by lightning. With some amusement, Robin noted that she had been very close that exact scenario twice in the same day at High Point when she met Loki. She and Loki shared a quick breakfast of strawberry pop tarts and orange juice. Loki did not particularly like the pop tarts, unlike Thor who had devoured almost the entire box the night before.

The trip to the bank was uneventful. And to their immense relief, everything seemed to be normal around the city. No one seemed panicked and life went on as usual. Robin stopped at a convenience store and picked up the Times. Loki read through the overpriced newspaper on the way to the bank, but there was nothing out of the ordinary aside from a recent string of bank robberies in the Bronx. But then, the economy was in the shitter, and it was the Bronx. If you weren't Tony Stark, odds were you were scraping by on pennies. He expressed his concern about that as they arrived at the bank, but Robin just laughed.

"That's what they have alarm systems for. Also, this isn't the Bronx." Robin said, shrugging it off as they entered the cool interior of the bank. She tried to pretend she wasn't intimidated by the size of the place or the expensive looking decor. It was nothing like the banks back home. But of course, Tony probably wouldn't deal with them if it wasn't over the top like everything else in his private life. "Robin Sheffield, Representing Tony Stark. She said, handing the woman seated at a desk off the side her driver's license and the Stark Towers expenditures account debit card with her name on it. She was a very prim looking middle aged woman with her brunette hair tucked back into a conservative looking bun.

"Good morning, Miss Sheffield." The woman said cordially, observing her over the top of a pair of elegant looking gold framed reading glasses. "It's nice to put able to put a face to the name." Robin didn't really know anything about her, just that she was Tony's personal financial adviser, or something like that. She had handled the accounts and stockholder information for Stark Industries for years, according to Pepper. Robin been forced to call Pepper for understandable instructions about what her job actually was. Thankfully she turned out to be both a very nice person and extremely helpful. ...Also a touch sympathetic since she assured Robin that Tony was a first class idiot when he wanted to be.

"You too, Marie." She replied. "I'm here about that deal with the contractor who did the repairs on the top floor. He won't take a check, so I'm going to need the cash." Robin explained as she and Loki sat in the chairs in front of the desk. Marie hummed quietly to herself while she checked the records to confirm the details. Loki looked around curiously. Robin half expected him to start asking what everything was used for like little kids often do. Sometimes she forgot that he wasn't from earth because of how quickly he absorbed information and reacted accordingly.

"Everything looks fine. He never takes a check by the way, hon." Marie said. "Just make sure you get a receipt that it's paid in full. There shouldn't be any problems with him that way. Mr. Stark has used his company for years. He did a lot of work when Stark Tower was built, if I remember correctly. Plumbing and such."

"Of course. The total was - " But whatever it was Robin was about to say was cut off but an ear splitting scream. She, Marie and Loki all jumped from their chairs and spun around just in time to see a young man wearing a ski mask and black hoodie grab a women who had been waiting in line and put a gun to her head.

"I thought you said -" Loki began.

"Shut up, idiot." Robin hissed and shoved him behind her. "Don't move. No heroics." She added as she saw Marie calmly reach under her desk and press what she assumed was a silent alarm release.

"Give me twenty grand, now or I shoot her." The robber said. "Keep your hands where I can see them, don't bother with the alarms or I'll shoot her too." He said, pointing the gun in Robin's direction. She swallowed nervously but didn't bolt for the door like the rest of the patrons. If she learned anything about startled predators while hunting, it was if you ran they'd only go after you that much faster. She did notice though, that a child hadn't ran out the door with the rest of the people and was hiding under the platform where they kept pens and deposit slips. The teller's face was white as she got all the money she could get her hands on from the drawers around her and threw it at him in a panic. Robin remained still and calm. One thing Natasha had taught her during her self-defense lessons was never to panic. If someone meant her harm, they would be able to sense fear like an animal. It was very important to _never _show fear. Loki seemed impassive as well. That, Robin assumed, was most likely because he was probably getting used to all the death threats. It was going to take more than some gangster waving a semi-auto around to rattle his cage.

"This is only fifteen! I said twenty!" He shouted, and shoved the gun in the his hostage's mouth. "Now!"

"I can't! I don't have access to the vault! That's all there is that I can get to!" The teller cried, wringing her hands. "Please don't hurt anyone! I can't get any more! Please!"

"Who here has access to the vault? What about you?" He snapped, pointing the gun in Marie's direction. At that moment, the woman wriggled out of his grasp and ran to the waiting area where her child, a young boy, was still cowering under the writing table. The gunman cursed and made a dash for her, but Loki was quicker.

"You dumbass! I said no heroics!" Robin cried, trying to grab him as he ran past her. He landed a solid punch that sent the man sprawling, but he recovered quickly. Loki seemed surprised and hesitated, obviously he'd misjudged his lack of physical strength in a mortal form.

"Fine, I'll shoot the damn kid!" He screamed and pointed the gun at the child held tightly in his mother's arms. She was trembling and made no sound. She didn't have time to run anyway. The only thought in Loki's mind was that he had to protect them, he didn't consider the consequences – or much care about them. Robin watched in horror as Loki threw himself in front of the mother and child just as the robber pulled the trigger. As if in slow motion, three shots rang out deafening in the silence and Loki fell to the floor, motionless. Robin didn't panic. She couldn't. Instead, she considered her options and decided to make a move while the opportunity presented itself. He had to be stopped. He almost killed a kid, and he would have if Loki hadn't gotten in the way. So much for not being the one to take charge of a situation.

Moving as fast as she could, Robin leaped forward and pulled the pocket knife she used when hunting out of the back pocket of her jeans and flicked it open. She always carried it as it was rather handy for a lot of odd things, even if she never expected to use it as weapon. The man saw her and reacted quickly, but she was faster. Robin nailed him with a hard kick right in the groin, and jabbed him at the base of his skull with the butt of her pocket knife as he hunched over in pain. Natasha had taught her that if you hit that pressure point just right it would knock nearly anyone unconscious. It did, but before falling into an unresponsive heap, the man shot blindly one more time. Robin screamed in pain as the bullet lodged itself in her right shoulder blade. She caught her breath and rolled off of him unceremoniously. Gingerly, she gripped the wounded shoulder. If nothing else, she had one hell of a tolerance for pain. But of course she did, after all those years of being beaten by her stepfather. She looked around nervously. It looked like a scene out of a bad action flick. The tellers and the hostages staring at her with a mixture of shock and gratitude and Loki... Loki just lying there, bloodstains slowly seeping through his suit jacket. Memories of Sam's motionless body after being attacked during the invasion crawled into her mind unbidden. Ignoring the pain she ran to his side.

"What are you all doing?! Someone call an ambulance and hit the goddamned panic alarm if you haven't already!" She yelled as she fell to her knees beside Loki. She could hear them all scrambling to get to a phone. "Please don't be dead, I can't forgive you if you're dead you asshole." She whispered, finally starting to panic. Shaking, she felt for a pulse. It was steady and he was breathing. Definitely not dead. She fell back onto her rump and breathed a sigh of relief.

"D-do we need the coroner, too?" Marie asked a few paces away. Aside from that slight stutter, she'd been calm throughout the affair. It was both scary and impressive. But she worked for Stark Industries, the Gods knew she probably dealt with shit like this on a regular basis handling that kind of money.

"No, he's alive. Thank the Gods." Robin replied and tore a piece of her jacket off and wrapped it around her shoulder to stop the bleeding. She didn't touch Loki. She wasn't sure she could even handle seeing the wounds let alone touching them. Yet, she had no problem skinning and gutting a deer. It wasn't the blood. This was different. No, leave that to the paramedics – they knew what they were doing. Luckily they arrived quickly. Robin was not allowed to go with Loki in the ambulance so she opted to drive herself there, ignoring all the suggestions to just call another ambulance.

"I'm fine. Well, not really. But I can drive." She insisted and followed them in her Grand Am. The rest of the day was a blur. All she could think of was that she had to call Clint or Tony and someone had to feed Frigga and give her the medicine. But only she and Loki would be allowed into Stark Tower and she never got the opportunity. She didn't have her phone either, the police had taken anything that might help identify who the would-be robber was working for. Moments after arriving in the emergency room, Robin was taken into an operating room and sedated to have the bullet removed after a quick x-ray of her shoulder.

* * *

Tony was getting increasingly more irritable by the moment. Robin was not returning any of his calls and they'd hit a dead end once they gotten to the place the energy signature came from. They still had no idea what in the fuck it was, but Bruce said that there was gamma radiation nearby. Not enough to be harmful, but it was there. Which, made no sense. But it reminded Clint of something he'd rather forget. The day Loki stole the Tesseract.

"Selvig said the Tesseract was emitting faint gamma radiation just before Loki used it to come from... wherever he was." He said, glancing at Tony who was sitting in the grass next to him with his arms crossed over his chest. The faint glow of the arc reactor was slightly visible through his somewhat worn-out ACDC t-shirt, even in the afternoon sunlight.

"I don't know anything about the Tesseract. SHIELD actually managed to keep that confidential – even with my hacking. Because believe me, I tried." Tony replied.

"I believe you. If Stark Industries had an energy source like that to dick around with, you'd be ruling the world without lifting a finger." Clint commented sarcastically. Tony rolled his eyes. Everyone was tense. Fury was indeed missing. He hadn't been seen since he'd decided to come check things out himself and SHIELD hadn't been able to track him. "Where the hell are we anyway? I mean wow. This is really the boonies. I wonder if it's like this where Robin lives."

"It is, actually, she lives somewhere on the other side of that mountain there." Tony said and pointed at the High Point Monument which was very faintly visible in the distance. "I dunno much about it. Seems like a nice, quiet place to retire though." Tony answered flippantly.

"I doubt the locals will want an obnoxious skyscraper with your name on it sticking out of a cornfield." Bruce added, coming to sit by them in the grass on the edge of the overgrown unused field they were inspecting. Neither replied. They weren't in the mood. "Anyway, I just talked to the owner of this property. Older guy, one of those big bushy hillbilly beards. He said he hasn't seen anything out of the ordinary and was wondering where the one-eyed black man that came here earlier was. Apparently Fury asked him permission to have a look around, and said he he'd come back when he was done to let him know he was leaving. He never came back apparently." Bruce elaborated.

"That's not much help." Clint scoffed.

"It is, actually." Bruce interjected. "Fury knew something was up. He made it a point to speak to the property owner. Even though he didn't _need_ any kind of permission because of being from SHIELD and having just cause. He did it for two reasons. One, we now know he was definitely here when he was last seen. Two, It's not much but he also told the owner that he needed to check acid content in the soil and the ground water PH levels. Normally, he wouldn't tell anyone the time of day. This _is_ Fury we're talking about. So, we now know where he was and what he was doing. He did that on purpose so we would have some kind of lead if something happened." He explained.

"I guess that makes sense." Tony agreed. "Fury's a dick, but at least he's smart and took precautions. But we still don't know what we're walking into, what should we do now? And hey, where's Natasha?" He asked just as he noticed he hadn't seen the red-headed spy in over an hour.

"She wasn't with you?" Bruce asked, frowning. "Last I saw her, she took a gamma reader over by the edge of the woods there." He said pointing to the edge of the forest skirting the field.

"She came back after that, though. Didn't find anything either." Clint added as he picked up the cellphone from ground next to him and dialed her number. After several tense minutes, it went to her voicemail. "Oh no." He whispered, forgetting how to breathe.

"Chill. She trashed her phone, remember. She doesn't have one." Tony said, reminding Clint that its sad remains were on his workbench waiting to be reassembled.

"She had mine." Clint replied. "This is yours, it was sitting next to you there. " He handed the phone to Tony, who made his usual comment about not liking to be handed things. He winced. It _was_ his.

"Well, we can't panic. We're talking about two of the best spies that ever were." Tony said trying to reassure Clint. "Wherever they are, I'm sure they're already ass-kicking their way out. So, what next Brucey?"

"Let's follow what Fury left for us and test the water and soil PH. Also, this should go without saying, but we need to not get separated." Bruce told them. "Thinking of that, did Steve ever come back from town?"

"No." Tony and Clint answered in unison. Neither bothered calling him. They knew Steve would probably panic and throw his phone away if it ever rang. He didn't get along well with technology. Tony had permanently set it on silent and made sure he carried it mostly to use as a tracking device if they needed to find him - or if Steve needed to call someone. That he usually managed. Usually.

"Jarvis, can you tell me where Capcicle is?" He said into his earpiece and sent the signal through his phone on speaker so the others could hear. The three of them waited in a nervous silence while Jarvis searched.

"There is no signal, sir. Shall I try a different satellite?" Jarvis replied. Tony bit his lip and answered in the affirmative. He also told him to search for Clint's as well in case Natasha really was just nearby somewhere. They had already tried with Fury and gotten nothing. "Still nothing on either, sir. I apologize for the inconvenience."

"We have a problem." Tony said finally and looked up at two very angry and confused members of the avengers. They figured Thor knew something more about the situation than he had let on to the night before. He had said that Heimdall told him Midgard was in danger and came running, but that was all. They knew he was leaving out details; Thor was like an open book. But he this time he just wouldn't talk. It would have been nice of him to mention that there was some kind of people eating wormhole. "Thor had better get his ass back from Asgard yesterday. Actually, Jarvis, I want you to tell me where the hell Robin Hood is too. I don't like that she isn't answering either. I mean, I doubt she got sucked into whatever this is back in New York, but just check." Tony added, fidgeting uncomfortably. _Magic isn't real. It's some kind of alien science. People don't just fucking vanish. _He tried to console himself while he waited for Jarvis' response.

"Miss Sheffield's cellphone is located at the New York Police department headquarters. She herself is likely presently located at the nearest hospital. She was taken for treatment of a gunshot wound, but has not yet been released. According to their records her condition is stable and the injuries were minor." Jarvis replied almost immediately. Bruce and Clint both raised their eyebrows as they tried to figure out what the hell she'd gotten involved with. She wasn't even supposed to leave the tower. Robin hadn't vanished into the ether at least, that was good to know. Through recent public records, and her cellphone she was traceable, but _still_... What. The. Hell.

"What the fuck how did she-? Never mind, I know you don't know." Tony complained. "Where is Reindeer Games?" Tony was now very thankful he had given Loki a cellphone.

"The same, sir. His cellphone is at the police headquarters. But Mr. Laufeyson is in the intensive care unit with severe injuries." Jarvis explained. Tony shook his head. The scenario he was imagining was that Loki had gotten ahold of the gun in his workshop and tried to shoot Robin to escape, but after Natasha's training she was too good for him. That didn't explain why in fuck's name he was still alive if he'd pulled that. Robin would have killed him if he turned on her. Natasha had not doubted that when they were done training. And Tony sure as hell didn't think Robin wasn't capable of killing someone in self-defense. Or at all really. Something about her just seemed dangerous like that.

"Anything else you can tell me? Were they taken by ambulance or did Robin Drive there?" Tony asked. The others remained silent, obviously coming to the same conclusion as him. Tony _knew_ they shouldn't have left her alone with Loki. This was all their fault_. All of it._

"Mr. Laufeyson was taken by ambulance at eleven forty-eight this morning from the Chase Bank to the hospital. Upon further investigation into police reports, it appears that there was an armed robbery. Mr. Laufeyson shielded a hostage from being killed. Miss Sheffield incapacitated the criminal and was wounded in the process." Jarvis replied. "There are no further records as the reports have not yet been fully submitted to the database, and the case is still open for investigation. According to the bank's logs, around the same time Marie LaRouge accessed Stark Tower's expenditures account to withdraw money for the contractor for the floor repairs. This was likely Miss Sheffield and Mr. Laufeyson's reason for being present during the robbery."

"Talk about the wrong place at the wrong time." Clint said and shook his head. "At least they aren't dead. And Loki didn't decide to say 'fuck it, I'm done making nice'."

"Loki could be damn close to dead if he's in the ICU, though." Bruce commented. He couldn't help but worry, not after he'd seen how Loki was with that poor kitten. "I think we should check those PH readings and head home. We can't afford to leave someone here and lose them, and obviously this needs to be sorted out."

"Right, Clint. Go home. Bruce, we've got this." Tony said.

"But Natasha - " Clint began.

"We'll find her." Tony assured him. "And Steve. Even old one-eye, as much as we all_ love _him."

"Tony, I just said we can't be separated." Bruce glared.

"No offense, but Clint's pretty useless here. At least we will have a better idea what we're dealing with science wise." Tony said. "Get lost, Legolas. Robin Hood needs her archery tutor. Take my phone. I'll make sure to call you every hour so you know we didn't disappear, or whatever the hell is going on here." Clint rolled his eyes and left. They didn't take their eyes off his car until it was well out of sight.

* * *

When Robin woke up disoriented and sore in the recovery room, she almost didn't remember why she was there. Sluggishly, she rubbed her eyes and caught the attention of a nurse walking by.

"Oh, you're awake, good. Once you're up and around, we'll give you another look over, and you can go." The nurse said in a jovial tone. She was a small plump woman with blonde hair and a strong Brooklyn accent. Robin sat up being very careful not to put weight on her injured shoulder, which was now tightly wrapped in bandages.

"What about Loki? How is he?" She asked.

"I will check for you." She said and hurried off. Robin sighed and leaned back, trying to get comfortable. _I'll check, that to has mean he's not dead, right? _Robin thought to herself and stared at the ceiling blankly. _Please don't be dead..._

"Mr. Laufeyson is currently in the intensive care unit on the fourth floor. His condition is critical, but he seems to be stable and will most likely recover. His doctor seems rather amazed, apparently his injuries _should_ have been fatal at the scene. Aliens must have damn good genes." The nurse said with a smile. Robin rather liked her, she reminded her of her mother when she was younger and less careworn. "Once you are up and all checked out you can go see him if you like. Normally we only allow immediate family there, but you're marked as his custodian and he doesn't have any family on record anywhere... Well, not on this planet, right?"

"No, not on this planet." Robin confirmed. _Or any at all, really. _Robin mused. Loki really seemed to want to be closer to Thor in an awkward sort of way, but she knew if she'd let Thor in that hospital room he'd kill her. An hour later, Robin was checked out of the hospital. She was sporting a sling and an extra scrub top several sizes too big for her that one of the nurses had given her. Her shirt had been utterly ruined when the surgeons cut it off of her. Not to mention that she had no way to have anyone bring her own clothes to her. She was tired, miserable and definitely in pain. She couldn't wait to go pick up those prescription painkillers on the way home to feed Frigga. But first she had to check on Loki.

"He's semi-conscious, if he's not asleep." The ICU nurse explained as she led robin to Loki's room. She was a tall, skinny woman who looked almost bird-like. "Mostly he's just hallucinating because, well, he's on a _lot_ of medication. Or maybe he's not, we have no idea. Some of the things he's mentioned might be real on the planet he's from. He's usually coherent enough that he's been cooperative with us, at least." Robin nodded in acknowledgment when the nurse held the door open for her. It had just occurred to her then that none of the doctors, nurses or even the paramedics had been hesitant to treat him. They just acted and cared for him as though he were another patient, and not an insane homicidal alien God that tried to take over their world. They all recognized him when he was admitted and didn't question a single thing. Not even the secretary in the emergency room that had helped Robin fill out his paperwork. Robin couldn't help but think that a month ago it would have been different, that maybe they'd have let him die. He had, after all, been all over the news for the volunteer work he was doing. While he had mostly followed Tony's instructions not to give any kind of statements to the media, Loki did occasionally apologize for the damage he'd done if a reporter particularly annoyed him. He never said more than that, but it must have been enough.

Robin hated seeing him like this. Loki looked small and frail while he slept somewhat fitfully in the hospital bed. He was hooked up to several IVs, but at least it looked like the nurses had done their best to make him comfortable. He was propped up on a whole pile of pillows and he was neatly tucked into his blankets. Robin sighed miserably and tried to ignore the images that sprang to her mind of her mother in a similar state. …After her step father had given her a horrific beating because she didn't want to cook dinner for him after working all day. He had called the ambulance for her, but he never once went to visit her. Robin had stayed by her side until she was allowed to go home. Nothing was done because she didn't want to press charges. It didn't help that when the police arrived he told him that she was like that when he came home. That there must have been a break-in. It was lie, obviously. Robin had watched the whole thing, powerless to intervene. Her step father died a week later in an "unfortunate hunting accident".

Quietly she sat next in the chair beside Loki's bed and reached under the covers to hold his hand. He stirred slightly but didn't seem to acknowledge her. Probably he thought the nurses were prodding at him again.

"I don't know if you can hear me or not, Loki, but I'm going to look after your dumb ass. You'll be all right – you have to be. I'm going to leave for a while, I have to give Frigga her medicine but I'll be back." She told him, squeezing his hand. His skin felt far too cold to be normal. Loki didn't answer, but when she stood up, he tried to hold onto her hand as she pulled it away.

"Please stay." He barely whispered. Robin doubted he was physically capable of speaking much more than that. He _did_ have three bullet holes in his chest.

"I won't be long. No more than an hour, I promise." She said reassuringly.

"If you leave, father will take Sleipnir away. _Please…__"_ _Oh, right, hallucinating. _

"Shh, no he won't." Robin said softly. "Just rest. I will be back shortly."

"Please hurry. I don't want to be alone in this place." Loki strained to say.

"I will, now be quiet and sleep." Robin told him and tucked his blankets in a little tighter hoping it would make him warmer. How could he be so cold? She didn't know why but it freaked her out a bit. When she mentioned it to the nurse on the way out, she didn't really have an answer, either. What the doctor had told her was that maybe because of being an alien his physiology was a little different. He assumed the Loki's normal body temperature was significantly lower than the average for an adult human. _Frost Giant. _She remembered on the way out of the hospital. It was the first time she'd really touched him aside from dragging him into her car the day she found him. But she hadn't touched his skin, just the leather of his overcoat. _Maybe he is always cold. _Robin thought to herself as she found her way to her car.

After feeding Frigga and grabbing a sandwich from the Hospital cafeteria for herself, she went to back to stay with Loki until she could get ahold of Tony or Clint. He was awake when she got back, but seemed completely out of it. He would sometimes mention Sleipnir, but mostly he just begged her to keep Odin away from him. It took Robin a while to figure out that Loki thought she was Frigga. She realized that maybe he was having flashbacks to shortly after Sleipnir had been born, possibly because of being in pain and not really knowing where he was. Robin couldn't leave him like that, there was nothing else for it. If thinking she was Frigga made him feel safe, then so be it. She settled herself into the chair next to him with a pillow and drifted off restlessly when he finally went to sleep. Or just passed out, that was possible too.


	9. An Unfortunate Accident

**Notes:** Urgh. Lots of angst ahead guys, but with all the foreshadowing you probably saw this coming.

**Warnings:** Angst, Violence, some gore. Possible trigger warning for domestic abuse.

wineandwhiskey – this chapter should answer that question of yours. ^_~

* * *

**Chapter 9: An Unfortunate Accident**

* * *

"I hate him, Sam!" Robin cried and punched his bedroom wall so hard that it bruised her hand and dented the cheap sheetrock. Sam didn't seem to mind, he was just grateful she'd missed his autographed Led Zeppelin poster by all of two inches. "Why won't anyone help? Why is it okay for him to treat her – us – like that?" She fell to her knees and dissolved into tears. Sam knew who she was talking about. She'd ran to his house in the middle of the night more times than either of them could count to escape the beatings. Sam's mother was a kind woman who did everything she could to help Robin. Once she'd even stitched a horrendous cut in her forearm. She'd acquired it from the man coming at her with a knife because she'd gotten in the way while they were skinning a deer in the garage. It left an ugly almost six inch long scar. Robin had worn long sleeves ever since, even in the middle of summer, so she wouldn't have to look at it. But Sam's mom wanted no part of getting involved otherwise. Sanctuary and first aid was all she was willing to provide.

"It's not okay, but I can't do anything about it. Don't they have shelters for this sort of thing, no questions asked?" He suggested, running his fingers through his mousy brown hair in frustration. He wanted to help her, but he couldn't go against his mother's wishes. Robin knew that, and she hated doing this to him. But she had nowhere else to go. No one wanted to hear it. No one else _believed _her. Her stepfather was a cop. Yeah he owned an antique shop, but that was a hobby. He made his real money on traffic patrol with the state police. Cops were good people who upheld the law. They didn't abuse their wives and daughters. Robin _must _have been telling lies to get attention.

"My mom won't go, and what good is it at all if I can't protect her! It's not about me, Sam!" Robin sobbed, crawling into a fetal position. He kicked aside some dirty clothes on the floor as he knelt beside her and put his hand on her shoulder soothingly.

"It'll work out somehow. Have you ever just tried talking to him? Everyone has some good in them. You have to get along sometimes, right? When you're not fighting why don't just tell him to stop?" Sam said, trying to give her some options. How naïve he could be. But he only meant well and Robin knew that.

"There is no good in that man. He's a monster. He has no heart, if he does it's a fucking ice cube." Robin cried and got to her feet. "I have to go Sam. We're going hunting and he'll just use me for a punching bag if I'm late. Who knows, maybe he'll pester a bear and he won't come back this time." She added through gritted teeth.

"Everyone has good in them, Robin. Don't say things you know you'll regret." Sam said as she stormed out of the house. She could feel him watching her through the window as she waded through the snow and disappeared through the small patch of woodlands that separated the roads they lived on.

Robin seethed with hatred as she squirmed into her camouflage hunting gear, and shoved her long copper curls into a bright orange earflap hat that she tied beneath her chin. As she slipped her hands into her matching camo gloves, Robin realized that he _was_ going to die that day. It wouldn't be an accident. But no one needed to know that. She would protect her mother. Sam could say whatever he wanted, there was no good in that man. And Robin was nothing if not an excellent actress. This would be easy. She cracked her knuckles and grabbed her compound hunting bow from the rack on her bedroom wall. She wasn't going to use it to kill him, but she did a quick check to make sure the pulley system was in good shape. She hadn't used it in a while, but she didn't want to take her traditional recurve longbow that she favored. It had been a gift from Sam's family when she'd turned sixteen. She usually hunted with that, but the last thing she wanted to be thinking about when she murdered her stepfather was Sam. With a resigned sigh, she grabbed her quiver of aluminum hunting arrows and headed down to the garage.

"I'm ready to go, Jack." She said with a confidence that surprised even her. It filled her with the oddest giddy feeling to know that after today, she would never be beaten again. And the things he'd taught her would be his own downfall.

"Dad. I'm ready to go, _Dad._" He hissed at her as she closed the door that led to the kitchen and went down the wooden steps. He was a big, burly man with a lot of muscle and beady black eyes that seemed like they were too close together. Everything about him was intimidating. He was a police officer, so some of that came from his training, but not all of it. He was cold, ruthless and he looked every inch of it. Robin watched him boredly as he stuffed his camo beanie on his bald head and smoothed his mustache that had long since gone grey.

"You aren't my father." She said coldly. "And you never will be. Nothing can change that." Her reward was a rough backhanded slap that sent her sprawling hard onto the concrete floor. She didn't make a sound. She only crawled to her feet and glared at him defiantly. It took much more pain than that to phase her and he knew it. He was toying with her. _We__'__ll see who__'__s doing the toying later. _Robin told herself and followed him out to his old, beat-up red Chevy pick-up that he used specifically for hunting. He threw his rifle behind the seat and Robin stowed her bow there as well.

"Why are you using that? Don't you like that old piece of wood better?" He asked with a sneer as she buckled her seatbelt.

"The longbow can't take down a black bear." Robin replied. She'd already rehearsed this entire conversation in her head several times.

"It ain't bear season yet, kid." Jack answered and revved the engine of the truck to give it some gas so he could get the old piece of junk to start.

"Who cares? No one will know." Robin lied smoothly and locked her emerald eyes to his beady black ones. _You're gonna die today, bastard. _She added mentally. If the venomous stare unsettled him, he didn't show any signs.

"You sure you ain't my daughter? We think alike enough." Jack said and punched her upper arm in a way that was playful for him, but Robin knew it would leave a bruise. She ignored it. _He__'__ll never hit me, or mom__,__ again. _She reminded herself as she ignored Jack's comment. They rode in silence until they got to the woods where they hunted. It was a good three hours from where she lived. A friend of Jack's owned the property, so Jack didn't have to worry about trespassing - or getting caught hunting out of season illegally. Not that it mattered, he would get out of it anyway. The first thing Jack did when he hopped out of the truck was push Robin face-first into the snow as she checked over her bow again. She pushed herself up, and wiped the snow off her face. At least there was no blood. Blood would not look good later when she got to phase 3 of her plan. She watched until Jack was well into the woods before going back to the truck. They hunted separately, making it easier to cover more ground.

Jack made a lot of things _easier_ for her – like the fact that none of his rifles were registered, except for the one that he was carrying. And that he wore only camo, and none of the bright orange to make him visible to other hunters. Making sure no one was around to see her, Robin pulled one of these unregistered rifles from where she had hidden it under the seat the night before. She had been thinking about this for a lot longer than just today. That was how she'd known to hide it there when no one was home to see it. Jack wouldn't notice anyway, he never looked in the gun safe in the attic. He wasn't stupid enough to hunt with an unregistered gun, and he kept the registered ones in a separate safe. Well, she hadn't thought about it all that much longer.

It had only been about a week since her mother had finally been released from the hospital after Jack had nearly beaten her to death. Quickly, Robin hid under a huge pine tree near the truck and checked over the scope and made sure everything was in working order. She had no idea when the last time he'd fired this rifle was, and a misfire would _not_ end well. Especially since guns weren't really her thing, even if she did know very well how to use them. Once she was satisfied that it was safe to shoot, she dug in her pocket for the ammo and loaded it. It was a good choice. Standard ammo that most rifles used, they would have a hard time identifying what it was shot from, and if they did, the gun wasn't registered. They'd be looking at all the wrong people and it would be a long ass list, especially here in the boonies where everyone had a gun, if not ten.

Robin emerged from under the tree and slung the rifle over her shoulder with its carrying strap. She was very careful to keep to the brush. There were other hunters around and she could not risk being seen with the gun which would be damning evidence. Luckily, Jack hunted in a secluded area that she knew well. She very carefully covered her trail with fresh snow, making it look like no one had walked there. Another trick he'd taught her – so other hunters wouldn't think there was anything worthwhile in that area if no one had bothered to go there. She'd worn her old boots that had the soles worn off them, too. So that if she did miss a spot, a footprint would be hard to identify. Following his trail was easy, and she was careful not to disturb it while she edged closer to him. The adrenaline was pumping through her veins and she thought for a moment that she _liked _this. It was new, exciting, and _exhilarating. _They always did say that humans were the most dangerous prey.

When she found Jack, he was kneeling in the snow, loading his rifle quietly. A buck was grazing in front of him about thirty feet away. Excellent. The perfect opportunity to make it look like an accident. Another hunter might not see him without the orange and accidentally shoot him while aiming for the buck. At least that was what it would like when they found the hoof prints. Robin sucked in a deep breath of chill winter air, surprised to note that she actually felt _aroused. _Never was there a single second thought as she brought the rifle up to rest in its place while she found Jack through the sight. She took a moment to aim and landed the crosshairs on his right temple, just as he turned to switch off the safety on his own gun. And then she pulled the trigger, and grunted from the recoil. That was the thing she hated about guns. But it didn't matter. The shot rang through the woods and found it's mark. Jack had only managed to let out a startled gasp as Robin saw a patch of red explode in her vision through the scope. She lowered the gun and observed his still form, blood leaking from his shattered skull stained the snow beneath him red in rivulets as it poured from him. She didn't have to go look to know he was deader than a doornail. And no one would care about the sound of the gunshot. It _was_ hunting season. Triumphantly, and with the strangest feeling of euphoria, she progressed to stage 2 of the plan: get rid of the gun. That was the easy part.

She knew these woods like the back of her hand. There was a small cave nearby, and for some reason it always stayed relatively warm there. Whatever the case, if you didn't know where to find it, odds were you wouldn't. Jack didn't even know it existed, and he had been hunting here since he was seventeen. Again, keeping out of sight and hiding her trail well, Robin reached the cave. Getting to the bottom of the narrow tunnel took her nearly half an hour. She pulled a gardening trowel out of her waist pouch and dug a hole in the only slightly frozen earth where she buried the gun, and the extra ammo. She couldn't be caught with it on her. She was a little worried about this tactic, but with no trail leading there and it being far enough away from Jack, it was unlikely they'd look for evidence there. Carefully she replaced the dirt and patted it down evenly. Then she used the trowel to smooth out her tracks all the way back out of the cave. The trowel, she hid under a pile of rocks further down the path. Time for phase 3: Play the innocent lost little girl who can't find her daddy. This was the hardest part.

She found her way to the meadow, after making her trail lead from the truck, and around a few places nowhere near Jack's body as she did. She took care to disturb the underbrush and make big sloppy, obvious footprints. There'd be no way the clumsy girl that had made that trail had so flawlessly committed a murder. The scary thing was, she had done just that. In cold blood, carefully premeditated, and didn't regret it all. She was_ happy_, happier than she could ever remember being. She could feel herself smiling like a lunatic, and suppressed the urge to burst out into a fit of insane laughter. When she reached the meadow, she slumped down near the big tree at the middle and sighed in pure exhaustion. Then she waited, and at quarter past three, tried to call Jack's cellphone. When she got the voicemail, she left him a message.

"Dad? Where are you? You said to meet in the meadow at three." She made sure that voice sounded snippy and a little irritated, but not guilty. It was easy. She had learned to be an excellent liar to say things that pleased Jack to keep him from hitting her. And she didn't feel guilty at all, as an added bonus. Another valuable lesson he'd taught her that would lead to his demise. She called again at three forty five, but didn't leave a voicemail. At four o'clock, she left another one, sounding a little panicky, but not guilty. "Dad? We were supposed to meet an hour ago. Why aren't you answering?" Then, at four thirty, she called again but did not leave a voicemail. Satisfied, cold and wet to the bones from sitting in the snow, she got to her feet for the second part of phase three: find help.

"Dad!" Robin howled as she trudged through the woods in a way that was carefully made to look random and blind. "Where are you? Someone help!" she screamed. It took her about another hour, but another hunter finally heard her screams. He was the perfect example of an upstate hick. He was dressed in a combo of camo and a red plaid overcoat with an orange beanie shoved on his head. He had a thick beard and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth that was missing half its teeth.

"What's the matter kid?" He asked, his voice gruff from smoking a pack a day.

"I can't find my father! He said to meet him in the meadow down there at three but he never showed. I called him like ten times but he wouldn't answer. My phone battery died and I need to call the police or something. I don't know what to do!" She said, sobbing into her gloves. Making herself cry was easy, she just had to think of all the painful things Jack had done to her mother. Of how she'd been the only one the visit her in the hospital. The tears were very real, even if they didn't apply to the actual situation. Her phone battery actually had died. She'd carefully made sure to keep the charge low enough to die after making a few calls but high enough to pull it off. Robin had thought of every scenario and left nothing to chance.

"Ok, calm down kid. We'll find him and if we don't I'll get ya back to my place and we'll call the cops. I don't bring my phone huntin'." _Perfect_, Robin though. Even better than she'd planned. That way, when they found the body, her footprints would only be going there once, but his would be twice which would be incriminating evidence that this man might be the killer. She examined his rifle when he wasn't looking. She bit her lip to keep from smiling when she realized it took the same ammo as the round lodged in Jack's skull. _Perfect. _But how would her prints only go there once? Well, he was just going to have to carry her back. And who would the cops believe? The scared young woman whose father was murdered, or the hick who had the same gauge gun and made the only footprints. It took some time to find the body. Robin followed blindly, flawlessly acting very much the ignorant novice hunter as not to look suspicious. Eventually, they came to the exact spot where she'd shot him.

"Oh, that ain't good." The hunter said, looking away.

"What?" robin asked, cocking her head curiously as she climbed up the little ledge beside her to get a look.

"No, don't look kid." He said and tried to stop her, but it was too late. Robin saw her "father" and the blood pooled beneath him. She clapped a hand over her mouth and shook her head violently. "Hey, he might be alive. I'll go look and I - Oh shit come on! Really?" He swore as Robin let all the muscles in her body relax and limply fell to the ground in an awkward heap. It was another lesson from Jack. She'd learned early on that if she faked passing out, he'd stop hitting her because it wasn't any fun if she wasn't screaming. She had gotten _very_ good at this. Sometimes Jack would sit in the room for hours waiting for her to come to. It was a battle of wills she knew well, and she could remain utterly motionless for an entire day – even with him prodding at her or shaking her. Robin was nothing if not patient. As such, she didn't respond at all when the hunter grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. Her head lolled listlessly to the side, and he gave up with an aggravated sigh. He went to check the body, but came back far too quickly for Jack to possibly be alive. Robin remained still and limp as he threw her over his shoulder in an undignified manner and carried her. Robin was nervous about trusting the man, but what other choice did she have?

After about an hour of walking, he dumped her on the couch in what must have been his house. She didn't dare open her eyes. The only thing she was aware of was that it smelt faintly of firewood and mildew. That, and the sound of him on the phone with the state police, explaining the situation. When he hung up, Robin waited a few minutes and 'woke up' with a moan.

"Hey, cops are on their way. Want some coffee or something, kid? I checked him. He's dead, sorry. Looks like someone shot him aiming for a deer since there tracks near him. He should have been wearing somethin' that stood out." He said. Robin fell into another sobbing fit and retched, feigning nausea. "Ugh, never mind. Just stay there 'til the cops come." He said and left her. And so he went outside to wait. But something strange happened then, the door opened again and Jack walked in. Robin paled and looked at him. There he was, blood dripping from a hole in the side of his skull as he stared her down. His breath came in ragged gasps.

"You'll pay for this, bitch. I'll see you in hell." He said and vanished. "Robin." She heard his voice wheezing. "Wake up damn it, princess of thieves!" Her eyes snapped open and she panted. With a startled cry, she backed away from Clint who was standing over her and fell clean over the back of the chair she'd fallen asleep in next to Loki. Clint blinked at her in surprise and helped her to her feet. There were tears in her eyes as she backed away from him and slumped against the wall near the door. She never regretted what she did, not once, but she'd never dreamed about it before either. No specter had come while she waited for the police that day, it was just the dream. And what a _nasty _dream.

"Jesus fucking Christ. Are you all right? Don't tell me _you__'__re_ stoned, too." Clint said in exasperation. But he knew better, he knew that look in her eyes. That haunted, guilty vacant stare. He saw it far too often in Natasha's eyes, and even his own when he looked in the mirror. She'd killed someone, not regretted it in the slightest, and was living with that guilt. No remorse, just guilt. And nightmares. And you know, it didn't surprise him for a second. Robin was smart. Smart enough to get away with murder. And he knew it wasn't the bank robber. He wasn't dead, she'd just knocked him out cold.

"Just a nightmare." She said, composing herself. Loki looked at her with a frown. He wasn't hallucinating that he was in Asgard anymore, and was completely aware of what had happened. He told Clint it was too painful to talk. He was mostly sure Loki just didn't _want _to talk to him_. _Clint knew he recognized that vacant stare, too. He'd seen it in Loki's eyes long enough to notice – and surely Loki had seen it in every mirror he looked in, just as he had. For Clint not to have noticed it before, Robin must have been damn good at hiding it. Or maybe she really _didn__'__t_ care about she'd done. He made sure no one was nearby and closed the door.

"Who'd you kill?" Clint asked quietly so that no one outside could hear. Her eyes widened just slightly, and had Tasha not taught him how to basically be a living lie detector, he wouldn't have noticed. Loki murmured something, not really capable of talking but apparently offended by his asking her that.

"I have no idea what the fuck you are talking about. I didn't kill anyone." Robin replied smoothly rubbing sleep from her eyes and letting her long reddish hair obscure most of her face. Damn, she was _good_, Clint couldn't help but admit.

"I've gotta hand it to you. You are one hell of a liar – you could give Loki a run for his money, but I know that look you had in your eyes. Tell me, and if I think they deserved it I won't turn you in." Clint said. Checking again to make sure they were alone.

"My stepfather." She whispered and closed her eyes. "I regret nothing." Loki gasped and struggled to say something but he couldn't. Robin squeezed her eyes tight fighting back tears. She wondered if he was awake enough to be able to remember this later. She hoped not.

"Why?" Clint asked, straight to the point.

"He married my mom when I was ten. He beat the shit out of me every day of my life since then. My mother, too. Once, he beat her nearly to death and she spent a month in the hospital. He told the cops it was a break-in. That he found her like that. It was a lie, I saw the whole thing but I was too scared to do anything. She didn't want to press charges, and I couldn't get her to go to a women's shelter. It was the only way I could protect her. The only thing I regret is how much I hurt her. Because even though he hurt her so much, she still loved him unconditionally. I _enjoyed _killing him, though. It was exhilarating. If I was a guy, I would have had a boner." Robin said, balling her hands into fists. Absently, she rubbed at her sore shoulder. For having been shot, it didn't feel much worse than the one time Jack kicked her down a flight of stairs and she ended up with a broken collar bone. Whatever the case, Clint saw no indication that she was lying. Shaking, robin took her sore arm out of the sling, pushed back her sleeve and pointed a long, jagged scar on the back of her forearm. Then she choked on a sob and threw her head back against the wall.

"What is that from, and how did you do it?" Clint asked.

"I got in his way while we were gutting a deer after a hunt when I was seventeen. He came at me with his knife. My friend's mom stitched it up, since I ran to her house crying and bleeding all over the fucking place. That was Sam's mom, if you can hear me Loki. She always let me run there when I needed to escape. But she never did anything to help aside from give me bandaids and cookies." Robin said choking back tears, luckily she was able to keep her voice quiet enough not to draw attention. "As for how I did it… Agent Barton, you're the better archer, but I'll bet I'm the better _hunter_." Clint didn't need her to elaborate, nor did he doubt it in the slightest.

"There's nothing to turn myself in for. I framed someone flawlessly, and lied and bullshitted my way through the whole thing like a boss. He'll be rotting in jail for the rest of his life. The only one who ever suspected me was my friend, Sam. But I even managed to convince him that I was innocent. The one person I'd never been able to lie to. And he's dead now, too. Loki killed him in the invasion." Robin told Clint. He let out a low whistle and shook his head as he tried to make sense of it all.

"This isn't the first time you've been shot, is it?" Clint asked, wincing. He was sure he already knew the answer to that.

"No. Jack shot me in the foot once because I was whining that he was hurting me. I was twelve years old. That was worse than this. I couldn't walk for two months. I couldn't run away." She replied miserably. Clint was glad this man was dead, or he might have done the deed for her.

"Sometimes, you have to kill someone. Sometimes it's the only way. It doesn't make it right, but just because we aren't animals doesn't mean it isn't survival of the fittest. We have to defend ourselves, and the people we care about." Clint said meaningfully. "Your secret's safe with me. He sounds like a real bastard." Robin tried to smile, but couldn't. She got off the floor and took her seat back in the chair.

"Leave me alone for a while then, please." She said and Clint nodded and left. She sat in silence with her face in her good hand while she cried quietly. If she felt guilty, it was for framing an innocent and hurting her mother, not for getting away with murder. She'd made eye contact with Loki once, but she saw only sympathy in his tired eyes, which somehow made it sting even more. She was a murderer, but no one held it against her. Sam probably would have, but he wouldn't have turned her in, either. But that didn't mean he'd ever speak to her again. He would have disowned her. The fact that she'd gotten away with it so easily was what haunted her. It was not regret. It would _never_ be regret. _Nothing_ could make her regret killing that man. She'd said when she saved Loki that she didn't have it in her to kill someone. In a sense, it was true. Jack wasn't human in her eyes. He had hurt her too much for that.

Loki understood, she knew. The way she'd killed Jack to stop the beatings was no different than what he did to New York to escape being tortured by the Chitauri. But unlike Loki, she hadn't gotten caught. She'd also been able to kill the person responsible, not innocent people who got in the way. _Except for that other hunter_, she reminded herself. She might as well have shot him too, he was given three consecutive sentences of life in prison. If everyone hated her for it, maybe she'd be able make amends like Loki was. But no one knew. The only amends she could make were to her own prideful selfishness. Admitting to her mother that she'd done it now wouldn't do any good. Maybe before she might have forgiven Robin, but not six years later knowing that she'd been lying all that time.


	10. Kindred Spirits

**Notes:** So, I have no internet at my work and I basically get paid to sit there and do nothing. (Though, owning the place does help, haha) I already have like the next four chapters all ready to go. XD I guess I'll just keep updating daily. Stuff's about to get really exciting in the next chapter!

Anyway, thanks for reading so far and keep the reviews coming. Any feedback you can give is appreciated!

* * *

**Chapter 10: Kindred Spirits**

* * *

When Clint had finished talking to Robin, he went outside to call Tony and told him everything. Tony had been surprised, not that she'd killed someone, but that she'd gotten away with it and framed someone else so easily. Any other time, Tony would have lost his shit all over Robin over the whole killing her stepfather thing. But it wasn't a priority right now. He and Bruce had no updates to give Clint. The groundwater and soil PH levels were normal, and the faint gamma radiation traces were no longer readable.

"So, we've got nothing?" Clint said irritably, and leaned back in the driver's seat of his car, well Tony's Ferrari, but what the hell ever. He'd decided it was safer to sit in the car while they talked. It could be a problem if any of it was overheard.

"Not yet." Tony replied. "I'll keep you updated. I want you there for security. I'll bet anything the media is at the front door of the hospital with their fangs bared about this whole alien god saves the day thing. Play bodyguard if you have to." Tony was right about that. Clint had been forced to shove his way through the throng of reporters to get to his car. Being that he was an Avenger, and they were known to be looking after Loki, they were right up his ass the minute he stepped out that door. He'd only beat them to the car because he ran faster. They currently were on the parking deck below searching cars to find him. It was only a matter of time until they caught up.

"Yeah, better go before they find me. I think Robin's had enough time to sit and feel sorry for herself. Hurry up and find Tasha or I'll kick the kitten." Clint said sarcastically.

"If you kick that poor thing I'll give Loki back his glowstick of destiny. I still have it, remember? And he likes that kitten a whole lot more than he likes you." Tony retorted. It was true, the Chitauri scepter had been left unattended at Stark Tower after all the confusion. Tony knew what to make of that, and put it in his highest security vault in the mansion in Malibu. SHIELD had demanded him to hand it over, but Pepper had given them the legal battle of their lives. In the end, Tony won. Maybe he _would _give it back to Loki one day. If he was positively sure Loki was not going to use it to make an army of zombie thralls. It was just collecting dust like some kind of sick trophy anyway. And he didn't need 'magic' to use it. Tony had tested it on Steve for shits and giggles and made him try to ask Natasha on a date. It would up with both him_ and_ Steve getting their asses kicked by a very angry Clint.

"I hate you, I swear to God." Clint muttered mutinously and hung up.

* * *

On the other side of the line, Tony smirked and shook his head. Bruce was sitting next to him, pensively using his laptop trying to dig through government records to look for clues. Tony admired his hacking skills, he was almost as good as the genius himself. He just watched Bruce for a moment, his brow furrowed in concentration as he typed. Bruce's way of hyper-focusing on his work intrigued Tony. He wondered momentarily if he handled sex the same way. _That _would be something. It must be wonderfully intense.

"Oh God, what is _wrong _with me." Tony thought aloud and flopped back into the grass. He hated the dirt and bugs and all that. The countryside totally did not suit him; so much for those retirement plans. If he even lived long enough to retire, given his lifestyle. _I'm not gay, and this is not the time to be thinking about sex. Even if I am a firm advocate that there's _never _a bad time to think about sex... _He added mentally when Bruce predictably completely ignored his existence. He was bored. Tony thought about getting up and having another walk around the field, but discarded the notion. He couldn't afford to be stupid. It was down to just him and Bruce. They didn't dare get separated from each other. Just as he was about to ask if Bruce was onto something yet, an odd glowing blue light caught his eye as it shone through the dense trees in the woods nearby. Not taking his eyes off it, he shook Bruce's arm and pointed. Bruce was annoyed that Tony had interrupted him, but the irritation turned to confusion when he followed Tony's outstretched hand and saw the glow.

"What do you think that is?" Tony breathed, suddenly feeling that they were being watched. Bruce grabber the gamma reader and pointed it in the direction of the glow as they slowly approached. Tony read the horror on Bruce's face just as the glow grew brighter and fizzled out entirely. "Bruce?" Tony breathed. If Bruce was nervous, it was _not _good.

"The Tesseract." Bruce finally answered and showed the Tony the screen of the gamma reader. He'd rigged it be able to reach Jarvis and search known databases for matching signatures. And there it was on the screen in plain text. A 100% match to the gamma signature emitted by the Tesseract. This was bad. Wasn't it supposed to safe in some epic vault in the bowels of Asgard?

"Now what?" Tony whispered.

"You can stop asking me that, for one thing. I'm out of ideas. But either there's something else, or Fury lied. SHIELD should have been able to detect the Tesseract's gamma signature, I stole that data from them, after all. It's unique; nothing matches the same frequency that's currently known to exist on earth." Bruce explained, staring at the electronic device and hoping it might suddenly say it was an error.

"He knew. Thor, I mean. And Probably Fury, too." Tony said. "That's why he came here, I think maybe he thought we stole it somehow. Or Loki. But he didn't seem to care about Loki. Otherwise, I don't know why he wouldn't tell us about this. It's kind of a big fucking deal." Bruce just shook his head.

"Let's take a look in the woods. We're not getting anywhere like this." He said. "Suit up." Tony silently agreed and unlocked the briefcase carrying the parts of the Heartbreaker which immediately assembled itself around him.

"All right Brucey, let's hold hands on our date so we don't get separated. All right, love?" He said through the speakers. Bruce glared, but smiled slightly.

"You're an asshat, Tony." He replied, and did slip his hand into Tony's which was encased in the metal of his suit. Not because it was a date, obviously. It would be every man for himself if they got separated.

* * *

"Is your skin always so cold?" Robin asked Loki once she'd composed herself. He opened his eyes gave her a look that questioned if the answer to that wasn't obvious.

"Yes." He said after a while. "Did Thor ever come back?" He found that he was able to talk if he did so very quietly and didn't try to move. He did still avoid it whenever possible because it still hurt. By the Norns, it _hurt. _He hadn't thought much about Odin's warning that injuries would not heal quickly, even if he couldn't be killed by normal means. Now, he wished he'd thought about what he'd done before he did it. Or if he could indeed die, because surely this had to be worse than death. Though, it seemed unavoidable – it really was the only way to protect the hostages. He remembered diving in front of the woman and her child. There wasn't much else that he was able to recall. There were snatches of things, like Robin telling him that she'd look after his kitten, and that he was vaguely aware that she'd stayed with him for the most part. Or the one doctor telling him that he was amazed that he was still alive. He had the oddest feeling that Frigga had been there, but when he saw Robin asleep in the chair next to him he realized bitterly that it had just been her. It was pathetic, but he would have given anything for her to be there. He was glad Robin hadn't left him alone either way.

"I don't know. Agent Barton came back to check on us, obviously, he was just here. But I don't know about Thor." Robin replied. "Is there any way to contact him?"

"No." Loki replied. They sat in an awkward silence until Loki asked her the question she was dreading. "Why did you kill your stepfather for what he did, but choose to help me?" He wanted to know, really. He an idea of why, but he wanted it in her words.

"Because the only thing I regret about killing him is that I betrayed Sam by lying to him about it, and how much it hurt my mom. That haunts me more than ruining and innocent person's life. ...One who went out of his way to help me at that. In case you haven't noticed, I never said I was better than you. I'm not. I never was." Robin replied. "You know, that was the first time I had a nightmare about it and I did it six years ago. I was twenty-one then. I helped you because I'm selfish. As if it could somehow make up for what _I _did to Sam. I can't. He's dead. He's not here to give a shit."

"I can't entirely regret what I did either." Loki told her. "For that I am sorry, truly. But I think you understand, knowing what little I told you of what the Chitauri did to me."

"You did it to escape the pain and to protect Midgard. You don't regret that, what you regret is not being able to find a better way where no one had to die. ...Because you weren't in the right state of mind to be rational. I understand. I know what it feels like when you've hit rock bottom and you can either fight your way out or give up. Giving up isn't in your nature any more than it's in mine." Robin said, and sighed. "You should also know that I forgive you. For Sam, I mean. Well, I kinda did a while ago, but didn't want to say anything. But holding that grudge would be the same as you asking me to regret killing Jack. I can't, and I won't try."

"I never thought I would hear those words." He admitted after a while. "Do you still hate me?" Loki asked, dreading it. She had not recently expressly said that she had, only in sarcasm. She had made it clear that she didn't really _like _him, but she didn't seem to despise him. Not as much as she had when they first met, if nothing else.

"No, I don't. I used to. More than anything, but I can't anymore. I mean, I want to hate you. But I don't hate myself in spite of what I've done. Hating you would mean I'd have to hate myself, too. We had all the same reasons, just different situations." She replied thoughtfully and looked down at him. "Do you hate me? ...For bringing you back to New York and the Avengers?"

"No. I don't even hate Stark anymore. He is still aggravating, however." Loki said with a hint of a smile. "Will you ever tell me the rest of your story?" Loki asked, deciding he might as well push his luck. He knew what she'd meant about everyone who she trusted hurting her. He'd been there enough times to be no less cautious himself. But if someone put a dagger in her back, it was not going to be him. She had saved him twice now. And this time, she had only left his side to care for his sick pet. No, he would stand at her back and nothing would ever be able to overtake them. Well, if he ever managed to stand again. Right now breathing was a battle of its own. He was trying not think about how much it hurt to speak, but these words needed to be said. These Midgardian healers were grossly inferior to the healers of Asgard and Alfheim. They had been kind to him, though. That was unexpected.

"Someday." Robin said pensively.

"When you are ready." Loki replied. "What happened after I was wounded?" Robin described how she'd incapacitated the burglar, and gotten shot herself as well. With a faint smile, she told him that it hurt less than being beaten by Jack. It was probably just the painkillers, but she knew she could have escaped this if she'd wanted to, or been a little more cautious. …Not that there was time for caution. Either way, it _was _less painful in a way; it didn't come with the mental anguish of being intentionally abused for someone else's amusement.

"I just wish I knew what was going on with SHIELD." Robin huffed and made a face. Loki nodded in agreement. He couldn't describe why, but he had a very bad feeling about it. It hadn't particularly offended him that Thor refused his help, but it did strike him as odd that he had been so secretive. Well, as secretive as Thor could be.

"I might tell you about it, depending on whether or not Tony replies to his fucking voicemail." Clint said as he'd heard the comment when he walked in without knocking. "It's a damn mess is what it is."

"Why did you leave then?" Loki asked quietly. Clint jumped, not expecting him to be able to talk. He knew Loki wasn't completely out of it anymore when he came in before, but he hadn't expected him to talk unless it was necessary. Damn the guy was a masochist.

"Couldn't be of help. I'm good for killing things, not so much with science." He answered. "You should know that. Besides, they're worried about you two."

"I do." Loki conceded. There was next to nothing he didn't know about Clint after having controlled his mind for so long.

"Look, I can't tell you much because we really don't _know _anything. Thor went back to Asgard, so I don't know if he knows something or not. Scratch that, he does but he's not talking. But Fury's missing – vanished without a trace. Same thing happened to Tasha and Steve when we went to scout the area. Jarvis can't locate them through their phones, nothing." Clint explained angrily. "It's like some kind of wormhole sucked them in. Like a bad sci-fi B movie. But we didn't notice anything until they were already gone."

"What the hell?" Robin said, confused. "People don't just vanish."

"...The Tesseract could do that. Or the Bifrost, but you would notice the Bifrost." Loki said softly. They both looked at him, Robin with confusion and Clint with horror.

"Would Thor know if it was stolen from Asgard?" Clint demanded.

"Probably." Loki guessed. "But that depends. Odin doesn't trust him anymore. Not after he went against orders to fight Malekith. ...And released me from the dungeons to help him." The silence in the room was tangible. Clint and the others only knew about Malekith and the Aether because Robin had explained to them what little Loki had told her.

"So if Thor knew, he would have had to find out on his own." Clint said, mostly for the sake of saying something.

"Unless Heimdall knew. He isn't loyal to Odin anymore. Well, he is, but not blindly so." The fallen God said with a weak shrug. "There are too many variables. It may not be the Tesseract."

"Do you have access to Jarvis?" Clint asked Robin suddenly. She nodded. "Call him and figure out why Tony's not answering his phone. We had a deal that he'd call every hour so I'd know if he and Bruce got sucked into wherever the hell Natasha is. He hasn't called this hour and isn't answering." Robin noted the panic in his voice and agreed.

"Give me your phone, mine's at the police station." Clint handed it to her and she raised her eyebrows. "This is Tony's phone."

"I know, just call." Clint snapped.

"I'm just saying you could have just called and used the keyboard to text your question." She muttered while it rang through to the AI. "Jarvis, I need you to track Dr. Banner's phone and tell me where he is please."

"As you wish, Miss Sheffield. Please hold." The three of them waited in a tense silence until Jarvis finally spoke. "There is no signal. I also took the liberty of scanning the Heartbreaker Mark II's locator chip, but there is also no signal. Have you any further inquiries?"

"No thanks Jarvis. That'll do." Robin said and handed the phone back to Clint. "Now what?" They sat in silence, all of the avengers were missing in action now aside from Clint. Robin and Loki wouldn't be much help either. Clint looked like he might say something every now and then, but he couldn't come up with anything. They all knew going there to look would just wind up with them missing, too. For a few tense moments, there was no sound but for the constant beeping of the heart monitor Loki was hooked up to. It was Loki that finally broke the silence.

"Take me back to the place you found me when I was first banished." He said to Robin. She shook her head.

"Loki, if we take you from here now, you'll die. There's no way." She said in exasperation.

"Robin's right." Clint said. "Alien God or not, no one just walks away from taking three shots to the chest. According to your file, you're pretty fucked. Nothing got your heart, but your left lung is, well, the MRI wasn't pretty." Robin winced. She had noticed him having a hard time breathing, but hadn't asked the hospital staff about his condition. The reality was that she didn't _want _to know. _When did I start caring so much that I'd be a wreck if he died?_ She asked herself awkwardly.

"I cannot die. I am still immortal, but obviously not as resilient as I was." Loki replied, glaring at them. "If I can free Gungnir from the stone, my powers will be restored and I can heal myself. This reeks of magic. I know magic. I am probably the only here who can do anything."

"I don't like this." Clint said in clear dismissal. "What makes you think you'll even be 'worthy'?"

"I have learned many important lessons since coming here. Also, the people must have forgiven me to some extent. No one left me to die." He answered, letting his eyes meet Clint's. "Not even you."

"I suppose I would've dragged you here myself to save time if I was there. Nah, I wouldn't have let you die. Even though you are still a total dick." Clint replied sheepishly.

"We have no other choice if you want to help the others. We'll have to trust Loki." Robin said. "But SHIELD has High Point closed off. Can you get us in there, Agent Barton?"

"Yeah, I am still one of their top agents, even if I am an Avenger." He sighed. "All right fine, give me a minute to get him out of here and we'll get on the road. Stay put until I do something about the rabid horde of reporters outside."

"Okay, I'll drive since I know where I'm going. And my car is right out front." Robin suggested.

* * *

Steve hadn't known what hit him. He'd been standing in the parking lot outside of a small church in town. There was an old lady there that he'd politely asked if she had seen anything that had seemed out of the ordinary lately. She'd said no, except that her cat had disappeared. Vanished into thin air. Steve told her he'd try to save her cat. She'd thanked him profusely and even hugged him. He was thinking that maybe he should have asked someone less obviously senile when suddenly his face had been introduced to the rough stone parking lot. He tried to move, but some incredible force held him still. The next thing he knew, it felt like he was falling, being sucked through nothingness. Then he landed hard on a cold stone floor, a women who must have been close to where he landed shrieked and surprise. He lay motionless for a moment, his face still firmly planted on the ground. Ever the soldier, he had to get his bearings and assess the situation before he made any sudden moves.

"Steve?" He heard the woman ask, immediately recognizing it as Natasha. Relaxing slightly, he looked around. Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. It was a prison of some kind. He and Natasha were alone in a small rectangular cell that was surrounded by some sort glowing gold aura in place of bars. There were no furnishings, only a small cot and a separate room with a toilet. He pushed himself up onto his rump and frowned. He could see clearly enough through the golden aura to recognize several other identical cells across from them and on either side. He could not tell how long the hall was.

"Where in God's name are we?" Steve asked. Natasha looked tired, but uninjured. That was a good sign.

"No idea. No phone service, so the GPS isn't helping." She said, flipping through menus on Clint's smartphone. "But, the guards that came by earlier were dressed kind of like something out of a cheesy fantasy movie. I think we might be in Asgard's dungeons. Fury's across the way over there." She continued, pointing at the adjacent cell. He could just make out the black trench coat and the friendly wave. Steve got up and paced the length of the cell. Asgard? That was crazy. Tentatively, he reached a hand out to touch the glass surrounded by the glowing aura.

"Don't do that!" Natasha cried, suddenly. When Steve gave her a questing look, Natasha held out her left hand. The palm was completely covered in a vicious third degree burn. The fact that she showed no sign of pain unnerved Steve. "I don't know whether it's some kind of computerized device or… magic. But _don't_ touch it."

"Are Clint, Bruce and Tony here?" Steve asked, still pacing.

"I don't know. Fury can't hear me yelling so whatever this barrier is, it's soundproof. We'll only know if we can see them." Natasha replied. "No, before you ask, I have no idea how I got here. I went to look at something near the woods because I thought I heard someone talking. The next thing I knew, I was lying face-down in this cell with Director Fury waving at me." Steve settled himself on the floor next to her. There was no point in panicking. He didn't have to be a genius like Stark to know he wasn't getting out of this cell any time soon. They would just have to wait for some kind of a sign. Waiting wasn't Natasha's strong suit any more than it was Steve's. This wouldn't end well.

* * *

"Why does it feel like we're walking to our deaths?" Tony asked sarcastically, his voice layered with a bit of static from the Heartbreaker's speakers. Bruce pointedly ignored him as usual. Tony was babbling. He never shut up on a good day and he was downright obnoxious when he was nervous. _I wonder if he at least shuts up when he's having sex? Probably not, unless something long and phallic is shoved down his throat._ Bruce thought to himself and groaned. Why the hell was he even thinking that? Tony was attractive enough, yeah, but this was _not _the time. And he wasn't interested in men. Especially not narcissistic men who don't play well with others. ...Not that he should even be thinking about sex. That just ended with him being depressed and remembering why he could never have a real relationship. It wasn't just anger that triggered transformations into the hulk, but anything that got him too... excited.

"Shut up Tony, they'll hear us." Bruce snapped when Tony said something about bad eighties sci-fi horror movies. Tony stopped talking, thankfully. How the man hadn't gotten killed yet with his total lack of caution in situations like this amazed Bruce. Either he was incredibly lucky, or the bad guys were so surprised he had time to make a run for it. It was probably a combination of both. Not that there were any bad guys. The woods were quiet aside from the usual sounds of birds and animals nearby. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Tony jumped at every little sound, and Bruce had to constantly remind himself that Tony was completely out of his element here. Not that Bruce was exactly in his element either, but he spent more time in the woods than Tony. ...If Tony had _ever_ spent any time in the woods.

"Well, this is anticlimactic." Tony said after they stood in silence for a while. Bruce knelt down and looked at the ground. The underbrush had definitely been disturbed recently, but there was nothing in sight. He mentioned this to Tony who decided to take to the sky and see if he could find anything. Flying felt amazing. He hadn't realized how long he'd been cooped up in Stark Tower until the roar of the flight boosters sent him soaring through the trees and toward the clouds. He pulled a few completely useless flips before quickly scanning the area. There was Bruce standing in the small clearing where he'd left him next to a large tree at the center. He turned on the infrared sensors, and saw what had to be animals. Aside from one slightly larger red glow about the size of a large house. He flicked the sensors off and looked below him. Nothing, just trees. He logged the coordinates and landed next to Bruce with a soft thud.

"Nothing, but I did pick up a weird infrared reading, want to go have a look? I couldn't see anything from above. It looks like geothermal activity but there's no harm in looking." Tony explained.

"Sure, there's nothing here anyway." Bruce replied. It took them about half an hour to reach the source of the reading. Which was also anticlimactic. Tony's theory about it being geothermal activity was pretty likely. Starting to get aggravated that they weren't finding anything, Bruce wondered around a bit taking care to stay close to Tony. He couldn't help but cry out in surprise when he nearly fell into a huge hole. Tony rushed over, and upon closer inspection found that the hole was actually the opening to a small cave. They nodded to each other and crawled in. Once inside, they realized it was much larger than it looked. And hotter than hell. Definitely geothermal activity. They were able to stand up and walk side by side down the fairly straight path illuminated faintly by the arc reactor. It took them another half an hour to reach the bottom which was just a slightly larger round chamber that was mostly filled with stalactites hanging from the ceiling.

"What's that?" Bruce said, noticing something sticking out of the ground at the very center of the chamber. Curiously, he looked a little closer. It was an old wooden hunting arrow, or it must have been at some point. Most of the goose feather fletching had decayed and a good amount of the black paint had peeled off the shaft. But what caught Bruce's attention was a scrap of paper wrapped around it and sealed in plastic. Tony flipped back his face plate and shrugged. Curiously, Bruce carefully removed the paper and unfolded it. "I'm sorry, Mom." He read aloud and frowned. He looked at the ground again and realized that it had been disturbed some time ago. Something was buried there. Thankfully, it didn't look large enough to be a body. Tony took the paper and inspected it carefully while Bruce used the edge of his shoe to push aside the dirt.

"This is Robin Hood's handwriting." Tony said suddenly. "I'd recognize it anywhere. But she doesn't live near here, she's at least a couple hours away. Bruce?" Not sure why Bruce wasn't answering, he looked up from the note to see the end of a rifle barrel where Bruce had been digging.

"Maybe not, but I think I found the murder weapon." Tony and Bruce looked down at the old rifle that was rusting away and made awkward eye contact.

"She's good, too good." Tony said, Bruce nodded in agreement.

"They would never have found this place." He admitted. For a couple of grown ass men that had taken more than enough lives themselves, they suddenly felt very uneasy. Something about this place was tainted, evil. Even they could sense that, but neither attributed it to Robin's deed, maybe the man she killed, but not her. Clint had said that she had been being abused and killed him in self-defense, albeit carefully premeditated 'self-defense'. But something about this place just wasn't_ right._ Bruce was about to voice this when suddenly the ground below them started rolling.

"Earthquake!" Bruce said and grabbed Tony by the arm. He dropped the note and ran with Bruce. The cave was long, but not deep enough to be safe from tremors. Panting and nauseous from everything shaking around them, they made it out of the cave just as the quake calmed. Neither complained, they both wanted out of there and they knew it.

"Well, that was unexpected." Tony said, breaking the silence. They both flopped down on the ground and sat there for a moment catching their breath. "Oh shit I have to call Clint." Tony remembered. Bruce dug for his phone that had been in his jeans pocket. Or, it _was. _

"Uh, problem. I don't have my phone." Bruce said and glanced at the cave. "It have must fallen out of my pocket while we were running."

"Great." Tony muttered. Clint had his earpiece because he'd programmed his phone not to work without it. It would be a nightmare if someone used it to control Jarvis without his permission. Requiring both parts made that less likely. But that being said, he couldn't access Jarvis through the Heartbreaker without the earpiece. That was probably a bad idea all around. Yup, he definitely needed to rework that entire system.

"I am _not_ going back in there." Bruce said just as a tremendous aftershock rocked the ground below them. They fell against each other, Tony swearing like a sailor and Bruce gasping in surprise. A loud crash sounded behind them as the cavern entrance gave way and caved in, leaving a trail of fractured earth across the surface for at least a hundred feet.

"Nope, you're definitely not." Tony agreed. "Let's get out of here. I'm worried about what's going on at home and all we're doing is digging up something we shouldn't have." Bruce couldn't agree more and even allowed Tony to grab him by the waist and fly him out of those god forsaken woods.


	11. The Battle Begins

**Notes:** Oh my stuff is happening!

* * *

**Chapter 11: The Battle Begins**

* * *

Getting Loki out of the hospital had not been easy. What he said about not being able to die was evidently true. If it hadn't been, being shoved into the passenger side of Robin's Grand Am probably would have done the job sufficently. Maybe he was still breathing, but man did she and Clint have to admit that he sure looked he wished he weren't. Robin did her best to try and get him reasonably comfortable while Clint dealt with the reporters. Well, as comfortable as he could be considering his condition and that they had dressed him in his Asgardian leathers. As much as Robin had loathed that outfit before, she thought now that it really suited him.

"All right, are we ready to go?" Clint asked impatiently as he came running back over.

"Yes, but you're staying here. Can you call in clearance for us to get in there?" Robin asked.

"I can but - "

"Good, do it. Stay at Stark Tower in case Thor comes back. I gave Jarvis permission to let you in. ...With Tony's phone, so as far as Jarvis can tell the order came from Tony." Robin explained. She didn't have a phone, but Clint didn't need to be reminded. Hastily, she gave him instructions to care for Frigga while they were gone – in case it turned out to be more than a day. Which it probably would.

Most of the drive passed by in Silence aside from raindrops steadily hitting the windshield. It couldn't possibly of been a much drearier day. Loki had lost consciousness from the pain shortly after they left. Robin felt horrible doing this to him, but it had been his idea. Still, it didn't make her feel any better. She checked occasionally to make sure he was still breathing, but aside from how shallow the breaths were, he seemed to be doing all right. When the quiet started driving her nearly insane, she put a CD of Black Sabbath in to play and tried to use the music to distract herself from the irrational fear of Loki dying. Or worse, betraying her when his powers were returned.

Getting into the State Park had been a pain in the ass. Luckily Loki had come to by then. They were stopped at four separate checkpoints and searched for weapons repeatedly. Robin was fuming that they had confiscated her pocket knife, but the agent had at least promised to return it when she left. That was better than nothing, she reasoned. Aside from all the strange equipment everywhere and agents scurrying about like mice, the park looked unchanged. She was grateful for that. Robin would have been furious if they'd ruined it any way. When they reached the monument, it too looked the same as always – except for the huge golden lance wedged into the base of it. She shut the car off, parked at the bottom of the hill and made uneasy eye contact with Loki.

"Are you ready for this?" She asked.

"Yes." He replied without any hesitation.

"Will you betray me?" His eyes widened slightly, as if he'd been offended.

"Never."

"All right, let's do this." Robin said and got out of the car. Loki waited with some degree of patience as she opened his door and undid his seat belt. She wrapped her arms around him to support him. It wasn't enough. With Clint's help they'd been able to walk him to the car, but she wasn't strong enough on her own. Loki's height compared with her lack thereof wasn't much help either. She swore animatedly and Loki grunted in a combination of pain and annoyance. Not that he was angry with Robin, he knew she was doing her best. It was just this whole damned situation. Robin knew if she'd believed in God she'd tell him right where to shove the whole mess.

"Do you need assistance?" Someone asked from behind Robin. Loki was about to open his mouth and state his opinion of being 'assisted' by a SHIELD agent, when he recognized the voice.

"Yes, please." Robin said, ignoring the look of disgust on Loki's face followed by shock. She'd ask him later.

"Phil Coulson." The agent said, introducing himself to Robin and helping her lift Loki from the car. He reminded her immediately of Natasha. Something told her this man could keep that easygoing smile planted on his face while the world blew up around him. Nothing could get under his skin easily, that was obvious. "I believe we have already met, though I hope it is on better terms this time." He added to Loki with a curt nod. He didn't trust himself to speak, not while he was trying to figure how the man was even alive, let alone willing to help him. Between the two of them, Phil and Robin and managed to get Loki to the base of the monument. It probably would have been easier if not for the relentless rain.

"Any word from the Director?" He asked Robin when they stopped to give Loki a minute to breathe.

"No, Agent Barton is back at Stark Tower in case Thor comes back. But everyone else is missing now, too." She explained, and went on to describe Clint's tale of Natasha and Steve vanishing. And how they hadn't be able to track Bruce and Tony anymore either.

"There is an explanation for this. Nothing is without logic, even magic I would assume. Not that I am the type to put much stock in magic." Phil said.

"Magic is nothing but logic, even more so than science. One does not make a hypothesis with magic. Failure means death or worse. There are incomplete theories, yes, but no guesswork." Loki said, distracting them. "I am ready." Phil and Robin supported most of his weight while they walked over to where Gungnir was still resting. They held him steady as Loki shakily took ahold of the golden shaft. "Stand back. I do not know what will happen." Carefully they let go of him as he shifted his weight to hold himself up with the spear. He watched as Robin and Phil descended the stairs and stood at a safe distance. He was grateful to see Phil gently urge Robin to stand behind him. He didn't want either of them harmed, but Robin least of all. The guilt at seeing at the SHIELD agent alive and well had thrown him. The fact that he had all but literally carried him up here was overwhelming. Who was he kidding? The fact that Coulson was even walking after what Loki had done to him was amazing. _You lack conviction._ coulson's words rang hollow in Loki's mind as he looked down at his pale, shaking hands gripping Gungnir's staff.

"No longer. I know the path I must walk now." He whispered and steadied himself.

Loki took a deep breath, as deep as he could manage without coughing up blood. He tightened his grip on Gungnir and pulled with everything he had. Oddly enough, it didn't take nearly that much strength and he fell awkwardly with the weight of the spear on top of him. His first thought was the if he wasn't dead already he surely would be. The pain from straining himself was immediate and overwhelming. By the Norns the _pain! _The next thing he noticed was the brilliant white light that enveloped him. In a rush, he could feel his magic pouring back into him. The agony became a dull tingling as the injured tissue immediately began healing. With a sigh of relief, he let his head fall back against the ground as the magic did its work. Within a few short moments, he was able not only to breathe properly, but had the strength to push himself back up into a sitting position holding Gungnir against his chest. His true strength was far from restored, but it would be with a few hours rest, of that he was certain. He could cry with joy at no longer being in that useless mortal form. But he must not forget his reason for being here. His eyes moved to where Robin was still standing beside Coulson. They were surrounded be a thong of awed looking agents babbling excited amongst themselves. Even Coulson looked a little impressed but was hiding it well. It musthave been quite the light show. Robin, noticing that he was sitting up, ran up the hill so fast she might have flown.

"A-are you all right?" She stuttered, her face white. It still felt strange to him to know she worried about him. …That someone who wasn't Frigga cared about him. It was a good feeling; he didn't feel quite so alone anymore.

"Yes, I am still healing but there should be no trace of the wounds in a few hours." Loki replied, almost unused to being able to speak without an immediate rush of blinding pain. As if to prove his point, he got easily to his feet. He leaned slightly on Gungnir, not exactly for support, but because he felt more than a little dizzy after having his magic returned with such force. Testing it carefully, he caused the raindrops falling around him and Robin to freeze into miniscule hailstones before they hit the ground. Smiling stupidly, he scooped up a small handful of the bits of ice and let them fall through his fingers. He frowned at the sight of his hand that had turned blue from the contact but ignored it. The self-hate was a battle for a different day. Right now, he had a bunch of infuriating mortals to save.

"That's amazing. It's frozen." Robin said and picked up some of the ice curiously. In spite of himself, Loki smiled. When was the last time someone had told him his magic was amazing? Never mind such a ridiculously simply thing. Sometimes, Robin reminded him of a child, even though she was anything but. He liked that about her. She was strong, smart and never took anything for granted. If only he'd been a little more like her, maybe things wouldn't have turned out the way they were for him. But no. The past was gone. He needed to keep walking forward, there could be no more looking back.

"Where did the avengers go when they disappeared?" Loki asked, ignoring Robin's amusement with the already melting ice pellets.

"Everything's at Stark Tower. Agent Barton wouldn't tell me. All I know is that it's upstate somewhere. We'll have to drive back to New York. " Robin explained tiredly.

"No, we won't. Take my hand. Trust me." Loki said, holding his hand out for her. She looked at him curiously.

"Why is your skin blue?" She asked and cocked her head to the side, looking at it. He fought the urge to pull his hand away and explained. _She is not judging me, she is only curious. _He tried to convince himself.

"Because I touched the ice. The way you see me now is not my true form. Some things, like coming into physical contact with something very cold, will temporarily make a hole of sorts in the illusion. I can explain that another time." He told her, still holding out his hand. Shrugging, she took it. Robin squealed involuntarily when everything around them vanished. It felt like she was falling, but Loki held her tightly. The next thing she knew, she was standing in the their living room in Stark Tower clinging to Loki for dear life and panting like she'd ran a mile.

"That was Fucking... _Awesome_!" She gasped and looked around as Loki managed to extricate himself from her. He tried to attribute the way his heart was racing to the rush from teleporting, and not to the way Robin had wrapped herself around him. He knew better. Or he thought he did, but the only thing in his mind was that her hair had smelled faintly of lavender and with that - he just stopped thinking. _No, not now. If I am going to be a fool like Thor and fall in love with a mortal__,__ it will be _after_ I've sorted out this mess. _He told himself. He wasn't falling in love with her, though. Not at all. That would just be stupid. Though, thinking of stupid...

"Come here, Robin." He said to her. She'd bolted to the window to see if they had, indeed, just freaking _teleported_ to New York City. Frowning while she tried to figure out how it was scientifically possible, she walked back over to Loki. "Hold still for a moment." He said and slipped his hand under the collar of her shirt to rest on her shoulder. Robin was about to open her mouth and yell at him for going back to his attempts to seduce her when she realized the near-constant pain in her wounded shoulder completely vanished as an oddly pleasant cool tingling sensation replaced it. She looked up at him with a mixture of awe and confusion.

"Is there anything you _can't_ do?" Robin asked, her eyes wide. She lifted her arm carefully. There was no pain at all.

"Of course there are things I cannot do." Loki said with a hint of a smile as she pulled off the bandaging to see that the wound had completely vanished without so much as a scar. There was no indication that she even had been shot at except for the slightly pink tint of new skin over where the bullet hole had been. She didn't reply she just stared at him for a tense moment, he stared back, but there was no venom in it. If she saw anything, she would have to say it was a sort of quiet acceptance of something, but of what she had no idea.

"Welcome home Miss Sheffield and Mr. Laufeyson." Came the voice of Jarvis, breaking the awkward silence. "Mr. Stark, Dr. Banner and Mr. Barton are downstairs in the workshop."

"Tony and Bruce are here!" Robin exclaimed. "Come on, Loki. Let's go see what they know." Loki agreed and allowed himself to half dragged into the elevator. 'Welcome _home´_ The AI had said. And Loki thought he could cry like a little a girl when he admitted to himself that yes, this was home. More so than Asgard had ever been. …And he would defend it with his life if it should come to that.

"I'm telling you I don't know why - " Clint began to say to a very irritable looking Tony, but fell silent as the elevator dinged. Tony, Bruce and Clint all stared as Robin and Loki stepped into the workshop.

"Well, you're looking a lot better than I thought you would be, Reindeer Games." Tony observed. He was sitting on the edge of his work table. Bruce was occupying Tony's chair and Clint was leaning against the table beside Tony. "So, I see you have the epic lance of salvation or whatever. Can you find your brother by any chance?" He asked, cutting to the chase.

"Thor? No. Not without going to Asgard and I can't guarantee being allowed to return if I do that." Loki said almost immediately.

"Well, we need to find him." Clint said. "According to Bruce's gamma readings, the Tesseract _is _involved."

"Well... shit." Loki swore. Robin giggled and Tony nearly slipped off the table laughing. Clint just shook his head and even Bruce let out a short bark of laughter. "What? This is _not _funny! Do you realize the danger we could be in right this minute! ...I suppose not, none of actually know how to _use_ the Tesseract like I do." Loki continued, irritably.

"This situation isn't funny, fuck no. But hearing you use our dirty mortal slang is pretty hilarious." Tony said to unanimous agreement. "Right, so. We're not going to risk losing you to getting stuck in Asgard if you're on our side. We need to go back to where this happened, maybe you'll have better luck finding something than we did. That and, well, we need all the help we can get. You in, Bambi?"

"Yes, I will help." Loki affirmed. "Where do I need to go?"

"_We _need to go back to a small town upsate. There's a patch of woods there behind a farm that's where Fury and Natasha disappeared. We don't know where Steve was." Bruce explained.

"How did you get back, though? And where were you?" Loki inquired.

"We drove back." Bruce told them. "I lost my phone in a cave, that uh, collapsed in an earthquake after we got out and I realized I didn't have it. We didn't wind up with the others."

"A... cave?" Robin said, biting her lip. All eyes were on her. No, that wasn't possible. No, it couldn't be. But they said the cave collapsed. _Good, no more loose ends. _She thought to herself. …Even if she had felt guilty for hurting her mother, and gone back a month later to leave a small note apologizing to her. She would never see it, of course. But it could have been anywhere. …Any patch of woods behind a farm in upstate New York that happened to have a cave. There wasn't any reason to panic. Her eyes darted to the hologram screen Behind tony where a map was displayed with the coordinates overlaying it. _Well, damn it._

"Yeah, by the way, we found it." Tony said. Robin suddenly felt cold, like a leaden weight had crushed down on her throat. She would have fallen over if Loki hadn't noticed her knees give out. He caught her easily and didn't let go. Her reaction meant one of two things. That was where Robin had killed her stepfather and they'd either found the body or something else to do with it. Sometimes, she wondered if she _hadn't _really murdered Jack and that the trauma she suffered at seeing his body had altered her memories. But this, well... There could be no more lying to herself about it anymore.

"Found what?" Loki and Clint said in unison. Her eyes met Loki's, pleadingly. _Don't ask, please. _He could almost hear her say.

"It does not matter if it doesn't have to do with the Tesseract." Loki quipped and changed the subject. _I will protect her, _he thought to himself, _Just as she has protected me._ The others must have realized that they were getting nowhere, and Loki wouldn't allow them to press. So, they let it drop. In a few moments, they all got a demonstration of Loki's 'fucking awesome' teleportation ability that left them all standing in the same field as before. Robin looked around nervously. This place never changed. Her gaze shifted to the farmhouse on the other side of the field. That was where the man she'd framed for the murder had lived. He been an old friend of Jack's, apparently. She swallowed nervously. Of all the things she thought would come of working for Stark, facing her past had not been one of them.

"You all right, Little Bird?" Tony asked, noticing that her face was whiter than a sheet.

"Yeah." She said vacantly. "Let's get this over with." The five of them entered the woods, guided by Robin who knew the layout perfectly. She took them to the meadow that was roughly located in the very center where Bruce and Tony had been earlier. Even if Loki hadn't known a murder had been committed in these woods, he would have sensed it. Anger filled this place like a smothering haze. The man's spirit was very much restless, and filled with a bitter rage. He told them to keep silent and seated himself comfortably at the base of the large tree. An image fluttered to his mind of a younger version Robin sitting there in the snow waiting for something with a grim smile on her face and a cellphone in her hands. This was new - seeing flashes of past events. Perhaps he'd gotten some new abilities out of this mess. He closed his eyes and allowed his magic flow through him freely. He gave it free reign to take over him completely. This way, he could feel anything and everything surrounding him. The most radiant presence, surprisingly enough, was Robin. Her aura was a brilliant, blinding white. _If she were an Aesir, she would have magic to rival my own. _He thought, extending his reach beyond the others surrounding him. He could hear, see and _feel _every living thing in the woods. Animals went about their routines and life behaved as normal, but, _there -_ He pulled his magic back into himself with ease.

"I know where we need to go." Loki said. "Robin, do you know of a place with a small ledge overlooking another meadow smaller than this one?" She paled and nodded.

"I can't go there." She whispered.

"You killed your stepfather there?" Bruce said. She nodded.

"You have to take me there, at least." Loki pressed, but touched her arm in a gesture of consolation.

"He is still here." She mumbled.

"I know." Loki replied. It didn't surprise him that she could sense his spirit – not after he'd seen her aura. She had to have _some _kind of extrasensory ability if she didn't know it herself. He realized it wasn't facing the crime that upset her, but that she was genuinely afraid that the man's spirit would harm her. It was a far more legitimate fear than she could possibly know.

"Will you protect me?"

"Of course."

A thousand questions swam through Tony's mind as he watched the little exchange. But, he decided to just let it be and go along with it. If Robin wanted to go batshit and fall in love with an evil space Viking, it was all on her. But if Loki meant that he'd protect her, Tony assumed it would at least keep him loyal their cause. Bruce and Clint didn't really have an opinion on the matter. Either way, Robin led them in silence. When they reached the place, she pulled herself up onto the small ledge that was really just a boulder sticking out of the ground on an odd angle. She stood up as the wind rustled through her hair.

"I'll see you in hell one of these days." She said, glaring down at a spot about thirty feet in front of her. There was nothing there but some shrubs and a fallen log. But Loki saw something else. Again, an image came to his mind unbidden. The younger version of Robin was kneeling on the boulder, hiding in sparse, snow covered remains of the undergrowth with a rifle on her shoulder. Her breath formed little clouds of mist in the cold that felt as real as it looked. He saw a man in the spot that she had stared at just now. He seemed to be preparing his rifle to shoot a buck nearby. But, just as he turned his head, a shot rang out and he fell to ground – the side of his skull shattered. Beside him, Robin lowered her rifle and was grinning like a maniac. It looked like she was... aroused. He should know that look on her well enough after his relentless teasing. Suddenly it faded and everyone was watching him oddly. He looked at Robin. She was still staring ahead defiantly.

"Remind me never to make you angry again." Loki said to her. "They will never find my body." To his surprise, Robin laughed. As did tony and Clint. Bruce, as usual, made no comment. He closed his eyes, letting the energy of the immediate area speak to him. There was the spirit of the man she killed. Wandering in confusion and rage. Somehow, he knew she killed him. Strange, considering he hadn't see her. Then, he saw what he was actually looking for. A faint trace of a familiar power. The Tesseract. The place where Rogers was taken was very near to here, if they headed straight through the woods. And the widow, she had been near the field, just at the edge. But that didn't matter, he knew what he needed to now.

"The Tesseract can act as a gateway – a portal. Though, I would image you know that by now after what I did to allow to Chitauri to pass through to New York." Loki explained to the others. "If my estimations are correct, which they always are, the energy flow leads to - No. It can't be." He opened his eyes and looked skyward. But that just made no _sense_.

"Loki?" Bruce asked, adjusting his glasses. "Leads to where?" When he didn't answer, the group exchanged nervous glances. Robin slipped her hand into his, sensing his distress even if she couldn't understand it.

"Heimdall!" Loki shouted at the heavens. "Send Thor here. Immediately!" There was no response. Loki swore in a language none of them understood. Robin did, however recognize it as old Norse from what she'd learned to be able to read the original Prose Edda. She fought back an amused smirk. Before any of them could question Loki, a blinding white light engulfed them. Robin shrieked as the ground vanished beneath her and she felt herself being sucked through space. And that was what it was. Space. She could see stars rushing past her and stared with interest, until she felt something grab her and she realized she was held tightly against Loki's chest. It wasn't nearly as pleasant as his teleportation spell. It was strange, it felt like falling, but not. The weirdest thing, was that she didn't really _want _Loki to let go of her. Somehow, he felt safe. She didn't want to think about how a month ago she wouldn't have trusted him as far as she could throw him. Even now, trusting him was not easy. But it was the fact that she _could_ that made the difference.

Loki set her on her feet once he'd gracefully strode through a golden gateway. Robin was awestruck as she took in her surroundings. This building, whatever it was, appeared to made of solid gold. It looked almost like some kind of enormous machine. Was this Asgard? She heard more than saw Tony and Bruce follow. Tony landed face-first with a thump and fell in awkward heap. Bruce flopped down hard on top of him. Mostly due to his acrobatic reflexes, Clint managed to do a sort of flip and land on his feet like a cat.

"This is... Not what I asked for." Loki said. Tony and Bruce got to their feet and had a similar reaction to Robin's. Bruce actually took off his glasses and polished them on his shirt as if he weren't sure if what he was seeing was real. It was only then that they noticed Loki was actually talking to someone and not himself. A large man with ebony skin, holding a sword nearly as huge as he was, scrutinized them. Something about that gaze seemed to pierce their very souls. He seemed to relax and sealed the wormhole they'd traveled through. _The Bifrost, _Robin thought to herself,_ That must have been how Loki was sent to Midgard. _

"Welcome to Asgard." The gatekeeper said, ignoring Loki entirely. "Your missing comrades are here, as you have already surmised."

"Where?" Loki demanded. "And why?" Heimdall regarded him with a mixture of pity and anger.

"The dungeons." He said simply. "Thanos is in command now. Odin is in the dungeons as well. Thanos believes he has dominion over my mind. I let him believe for that now. You are our last hope now, Loki. As much as it pains me to say that. Thor, however, did not have the power to fight it."

"Where is he?" Loki snapped.

"I cannot see him. Thanos does not entirely trust me with good reason." Heimdall replied. Loki narrowed his eyes.

"Nor do I. Never have you lied before, but here you stand doing just that. You are his thrall." The trickster observed. "RUN!" He shouted to the others and pointed at the crystalline rainbow bridge visible through the open gateway. Robin was the first to react and she vaulted through the gateway at a speed that actually kind of impressed Clint who was close on her heels followed by Tony and Bruce who brought up the rear. Robin would have been astounded by the beauty of the rainbow bridge if she weren't so busy running for her life. Thank mercy she wasn't afraid of heights or this would just suck. Tony was wishing to God he had had one of his suits. Bruce was just trying not to have a heart attack. This was bad. Very bad. They arrived at the other end before the city gates, panting. Just as Clint was about to ask how they could get in, an enormous explosion drew their attention back to gatehouse. As they stared in horror, they were grabbed by impossibly strong hands and dragged through the gates. _Einjerjar, _Robin thought as her hands were bound and she was pushed roughly along. _This is not good. _She could hear Tony and the other two men trying to fight, but they were easily subdued and bound. _But why did they bother with the Tesseract if they could just use the Bifrost? _Robin wondered as she was hustled along beside Tony and Bruce.

* * *

Loki summoned Gungnir's power and fired a blast of magic straight at Heimdall with the intention of disarming or incapacitating him. The last thing he wanted to do was kill him. The resulting impact shook the gatehouse and blew part of the golden roof clean off into the void below it.

"Indeed I do, and indeed I am." Heimdall said calmly and drew his sword, unphased by the mortals "escaping" or Loki's attack. Loki held Gungnir before him, ready for anything. He had no idea what he was up against, but he doubted it was going to be easy. _I have to protect Robin. _He reminded himself, surprised by the strength that simple thought gave him.

"What do you have to protect?" He asked Heimdall, dodging the gigantic sword with ease as he brought it down in a heavy swing in Loki's direction. It cracked the floor. Loki tried not to think about what that would look like it if were him. "Surely there is _something_." He continued dodging as he spoke. He couldn't run forever. But he _could _buy time for Robin and the others. If they got into the city they could blend in easily enough if they got ahold of some Asgardian clothing. For now, he had to find a way to break Thanos control over Heimdall. It might have worked to hit Barton in the head with something, but Heimdall was one of the Aesir. It wouldn't be that easy. No, he had to put that silver tongue to good use and find something that Heimdall cared enough about to get through to him. Then, he would be able to fight it himself.

"What about Asgard? How could you let it fall into their hands?" Loki shouted, barely dodging a fierce blow that tore through his coat sleeve and drew blood. He didn't waste what little valuable energy he had recovered on healing it. "What about Odin? The king is rotting in the dungeons and you failed to protect him!" Loki continued, this time drawing up a glowing green shield that repelled the immense blade. Quickly, he magically created seven clones of himself and teleported to the other side of the gatehouse.

"Enough with the illusions! Fight like a man instead of running like the womanish coward that you are!" Heimdall's voice boomed through the gatehouse. Loki sneered and projected his voice through one of the clones near Heimdall.

"I am the coward? Says the man than let Asgard fall to filth like the Chitauri!" The clone said jeeringly and hurled a completely harmless ball of magic in Heimdall's direction. He avoided it with ease and brought the sword down through the clone. It shimmered and vanished. This wasn't working, he had to think of something fast.

"You told me not to disappoint my brother!" Loki cried as a last resort, not through one of the remaining clones, but himself. Heimdall turned to glare at him. If this didn't get through to him, he didn't know the gate guard well enough to know what _would. _ "But I find it rather ironic, that you are the one who is now a disappointment to both of us!" He continued and ran straight for Heimdall, strafing to the side to avoid his blade. Loki's speed was really the only advantage he had. If Heimdall were in control of his mind, he would have been able to see through the illusions immediately. He vanished and reappeared a short distance away just as he created more clones. Heimdall's sword bit only thin air.

"Damn you! You are like an insect!" Heimdall roared and bore down on the nearest clone. Thinking quickly, Loki considered his options. He couldn't run. Heimdall had sealed the gate after the mortals fled, and only he could open it. Loki also had very little hope of actually defeating Heimdall. He couldn't keep making illusions either. It was draining what little of his magic that he recovered to nothing, and fast. _Unless... _

Loki made a few of the clones distract Heimdall while he used his power to hide Gungnir away to be conjured when needed, like he had done with the casket of ancient winters. He grabbed a piece of broken scrap metal from the floor near him and used the last ounce of his magic to transform it into an identical copy of Gungnir, which he leaned on heavily. Instantly, with his reserves drained, the copies disappeared. When Heimdall turned to him, Sword raised, Loki threw the copy of Gungnir at his feet and held his hands up in clear surrender.

"The Loki I know would not surrender." Heimdall observed. Loki held his ground and met his eyes.

"You may win this battle, but the war is not yet over." The trickster said ominously.


	12. What Happens in the Dungeons

**Notes:** Finally,we're getting somewhere! And Someone needs to volunteer to give Tony a hug. XD

* * *

**Chapter 12: What Happens in the Dungeons…**

* * *

"Oh, _really. _I swear, just - damn it. Fuck me." Loki cursed, surprising even himself with how much of that ridiculous Midgardian slang he'd picked up. Once he'd surrendered to Heimdall, he'd been carried off by a group of Einherjar. Next, he'd found himself thrown face-first into his old cell. It must have been for irony's sake really. That was a problem. He couldn't get out of there now any more than he could have after his original sentence. He had been banking on being put into a regular cell that wouldn't pose a problem. With a groan that was equal parts fatigue and hopeless anger, he rolled over onto his back and looked up at the ceiling. The blank space did little to ease his mind. He hoped the others escaped, but it seemed horribly unlikely.

"I might not be opposed to that – considering I _am _opposed to dying a virgin and hell if I know how to get out of here." Loki sat up and blinked. Sure enough, Robin was there laying across his old bed and casually flipping through one of his spellbooks looking bored out of her mind. They weren't alone, though.

"Odin." He said, when his eyes fell on the King of Asgard sitting in a chair near the enchanted cell wall. Really? _Really? _Could this get any worse? He was trapped in this cell, out of all the hundreds they could have chosen, with _Odin. _Maybe if it were just Robin, he might have actually tolerated it for a while. Who knows, perhaps he might have even _enjoyed _that in some sick way. But no. Instead he had to share the one place in the universe he hated more than SHIELD's infernal flying fortress, with the one person he hated more than anything. Well, wasn't this just wonderful and not depressing or aggravating in the slightest?

"Where is Gungnir?" The fallen king asked, irritably.

"Safe for now. If it can cut through this barrier, I can get us out of here once I rest and regain some of my magic. I should not have tried to break Thanos' hold over Heimdall with so little of it recovered." Turning to Robin, he added, "That was masochistic at best, and you didn't even escape. I had hoped to at least buy you all some time." She shrugged and set the book aside. She couldn't make any sense of it any way. Some of the words she understood, but not enough to properly read it, or to decipher the strange geometric diagrams painstakingly drawn on many of the pages.

"It should be able to." Odin said after a while. "Loki, I wanted to apologize. This would not have happened, or really anything that's happened because of your actions, if I had been a better father. I am to blame for this. And also bear no less blame than you for your past transgressions." _He has really been thinking hard about that, has he not? _Loki thought and studied him. _Just how long has been down here to start spouting such garbage? _The confession should have shaken him, or at least given him a feeling of gratification. But he didn't care. Not at all. Nothing Odin could ever say could make up for what he had done. And the thing was, as much as Loki had once wanted Odin's acceptance – it meant nothing to him now. A motley crew of mortals, all of which he had tried to kill on multiple occasions, had accepted him and given him a chance to redeem himself. Odin did not give him that chance out of the kindness of his heart. It was more likely that Thor annoyed him about until he gave in to shut him up. So, no, none of these words carried any weight and Loki couldn't have cared less.

"I cannot believe I am really hearing those words. Nor do I believe in them at all." Was what Loki actually said rather icily in reply and shook his head. "Not right now. I need to lie down." Robin got the hint and got off the bed. He collapsed on it and she sat back down on the edge near him. "Why did they put her in here, in the highest security cell in this place? She is just a mortal." He asked Odin and motioned to Robin. Odin shook his head and stroked his beard as he tried to figure that one out. He really had no idea either, nor any inkling of why the Einherjar would have seen her as a threat.

"I don't know. They said that I'm dangerous. But I wasn't dumb enough to try and resist, so I really have no idea why they'd think that." Robin answered. "Yes, Loki, I do know some of the language you speak here." Odin and Loki both looked at her in surprise while she awkwardly explained that she couldn't read the Prose Edda, so she learned what she could of old Norse. Loki wasn't sure to be impressed or wonder why she didn't buy a translated version. He knew they existed, he'd read it once while he was waiting for Selvig to finish his work on the Tesseract. His ability to read and speak all languages never ceased be useful. Though, the usefulness of of being able to read fictional drivel with tiny tidbits of truth concerning the history of the nine realms was questionable at best. They stayed silent after that for a while until Loki fell asleep.

Robin didn't say much to Odin, she had nothing to say to him. His apology to Loki took her by surprise, but words are just words and Loki's rather cold reaction had proved that he felt the same. Eventually, Odin got up and went to stand by the glowing glass wall and just stared blankly into the hall with his one good eye. Robin wriggled herself into the bed beside Loki carefully as not to disturb him. She hadn't realized how damn tired she was, and no way in hell was she sleeping on the floor. He wouldn't notice her anyway, probably. Though, it was more than a little awkward.

"Cold…" She muttered. Sleeping with Loki was like sleeping with a slightly warm block of ice. Though, it must be wonderful on those hot summer nights. She relaxed and rested her head on the pillow he wasn't using.

"Oh, but you _are_ something else. One day you complain about me trying to seduce you – though that was done entirely in jest, as I had no real intention of bedding you. And now, now you sneak into _my_ bed. What is the universe coming to?" Loki said smiling mischievously, and was somewhat gratified by the way he felt her squirm in embarrassment at having been caught.

"I seriously thought you were asleep. Ugh. I _refuse_ to sleep on the floor. So deal with It. I won't touch you all right. I'll move." She muttered, her cheeks bright red with shame as she made an attempt at scooting away from him. Loki only smirked and rolled over, dragging her back down in the process. Robin made an indignant sound as he pulled her closer. She found herself snuggled up against him with her head resting on his pillow and her face tucked beneath his chin. If she was blushing before, now she could swear her face was burning off. Damn him.

"We might as well make this halfway comfortable if we have to share a bed." Loki said with a soft chuckle. Robin thought she should say something about how _not _comfortable it was, but she kept her mouth shut and tried to relax. It didn't feel so cold with his arms around her like this, and something about the way he wound his fingers through her hair was oddly soothing. If she could just try to tell herself that Odin wasn't standing there with his back to them, it'd be fine. Except that she was far too busy imaging him scowling at Loki's antics.

"I hate you." Robin whispered and gave up resisting. She breathed deeply, deciding that she really liked the way he smelled - like leather and wood smoke with the hint of a the air on a cold winter day. What she didn't know, was that Loki was secretly thinking the same thing about her. But to him, she smelled of lavender flowers and fresh wet earth after a rainstorm in the forest.

"No, you don't." Loki said humorously in a way the reminded her of a cat purring and sent shivers down her spine.

"No, I don't. Mostly." Robin conceded.

"Good, then rest. We will need all of our strength when we escape in a few hours." Loki said to her. "You might want to rest too. As much as I would rather not fight at your side." He added to Odin who seemed, for all the world, to just be ignoring the fact that they even exited. Robin figured he probably was. She doubted he was any happier about his current cellmates than Loki was. Or,for that matter, much happier about Loki throwing his apology right back in his face. Not to say that she would have handled it any differently aside from throwing a 'fuck you' in there for good measure.

* * *

Tony decided he needed to teach these damn space Vikings how to throw a proper welcoming party. Because, really, this was just sub-standard and totally unacceptable. Bruce hadn't even gotten a chance to Hulk out on the guards. Just as he'd started turning green, they slapped some kind of magic handcuffs on him that immediately halted the transformation. _Bastards stole my idea, _Tony thought recalling how he had started working on a pair of similar handcuffs to use on Loki. His had no hope of his actually working, nor had he ended up needing them, but _still_... Bruce didn't seem to care. It was as though everything that mattered slipped his mind as he babbled about how _amazing _it was that they had been able to somehow stop the hulk from taking over. It was like Christmas had come early. Hell if Tony knew what that was about. Some kind of crazy side-effect, it had to be. It wasn't until the guards threw them into some kind of space voodoo locked cell that Tony started to panic. It was Afghanistan all over again and all Bruce cared about was how _goddamn fucking wonderful _it was that his rage monster was suppressed. Which, as far as Tony could tell, was not exactly all that good of a thing right now.

"Tony, this is incredible. If we can figure out how this mechanism works and make it into something else that can be worn more easily I can – " Bruce ranted animatedly, not even caring that he had been tossed into a prison cell. The only thing on his mind seemed to be that he wished the guards hadn't removed the cuffs when they put them in there. He dug through his pocket for his pen and started scribing algebraic equations on the cell floor in a frenzy with his brow furrowed in concentration. "I'll have to find another set somehow, and then have you dismantle them and – ".

"Will you SHUT UP?!" Tony shouted, cutting Bruce off. He looked up at Tony, from where he was kneeling on the floor, with a sort of unfamiliar hurt in his eyes. "Look, sorry I just don't deal well with being in captivity." Tony explained pacing around the cell in an antsy sort of way. Immediately he began tapping on the walls, testing for any indication of hollowness or weakness. There was none. Bruce watched him curiously as he crawled across most of the floor looking for gaps, or a drain, or _anything_ that might aid in an escape. Also nothing. Frantically, he examined the glowing, apparently magical barrier. It looked like a glowy sheet of yellowish plexiglass. He kicked it with his foot. It only earned him a sore toe, but it shook slightly. It couldn't be all that strong. He had to figure what it was made out of. He had a cellphone, car keys and a utility knife. He might be able to come up with something to break it down. He was curious, he had to admit. This was science, not magic. Magic was just some silly thing out of fairy tales – not real. Cautiously, he laid his right hand against the "glass" to see what it felt like. Maybe it was some kind of polycarbonate. The pain was immediate and overwhelming. Tony screamed and fell hard on his ass as he struggled to get away.

"Jesus Fucking Christ! Mother of God! What the hell!?" He swore, pressing his palm to the cold floor in an attempt to alleviate the agony of what he was sure was a third degree burn.

"Tony! What happened?" Bruce asked, already at his side with a hand resting on his shoulder.

"Uh, this?" Tony said and help up his hand. Yup, totally burnt the skin right the fuck off. "Holy shi –"

"Just hold still hang on I have burn ointment in here somewhere…" Bruce muttered, digging through his laptop case. That made Tony wonder what was going on. They were obviously in some sort of dungeon, but the guards hadn't taken any of their stuff. Maybe they were just _that _confident that they couldn't get out. "Ah, here we go." Tony just tried to keep his mouth shut while Bruce put the ointment on the burn. It took out some of the sting, but didn't do a whole lot of good. Absently, he picked at the dead, blackened skin when he was done. This was going to leave a beast of a scar. And then he half sobbed in horror and slumped against the wall. How would they get out of here now? He couldn't use his dominant hand to build anything – if it even healed properly since damn, he should be in the emergency room yesterday with a burn like this. It would require surgery and skin grafts at best, Bruce knew that – he was just trying to keep Tony from panicking. It hadn't worked, even if it was a nice gesture. His breathing became labored and his chest ached. He was on the verge of a full-blown anxiety attack and unless those damn walls vanished he wouldn't be able to stop it.

"Tony, you need to calm down." Bruce said, taking his shoulders in his hands gently. He wasn't sure what was going through the other man's head, but he knew a panic attack when he saw it. Tony shook his head. He could hardly breathe, let alone talk. He knew Bruce meant well, but he just didn't understand. No one did when it came to this – not even Pepper. No. His fear of being a prisoner, and the things that had been done to him in Afghanistan, were something he'd told to no one. Not even the Avengers knew what the arc reactor was _really _for, only Pepper and Bruce. And he'd only told Bruce because he trusted him. Not enough to explain why or how he needed it, but what it did, yeah that was safe to talk about. The others thought he'd made it as an easier way to power the Iron Man suits. Sometimes, it hurt Tony a little to realize that they could so easily imagine him causing himself bodily harm in the name of science. All right, so maybe he walked right into that one. But this… this was… The walls were closing in on him. Soon someone would want him to make weapons to use against earth, against what he fought to protect. The people he loved… He would die first. By his own hand if need be. "Tony, you need to breathe. _Breathe._" He heard Bruce's voice. It seemed distant somehow. Bruce doubted he was going to be able to get through to him. He couldn't even figure out what triggered it. It wasn't the burn, he'd been panicky as soon they had put the cuffs on him. Tony had fought like there was no tomorrow, but he just wasn't strong enough. The guards actually thought his 'feeble attempt to elude them' was laughable.

"Can't – " Tony gasped. He wanted to run, but there was nowhere to go. Desperately, his eyes scanned the ceiling. He hadn't checked that yet. Maybe…

"Breathe, Tony." Bruce was just distracting him. He _had _to get out. He took a deep breath, not that he needed it, but it might make Bruce stop talking or at least get him away from him. The air felt alien in his straining lungs. He coughed and righted himself. He had to get out. "Deep breaths, one, two – " _Just do as he says, _Tony's mind ordered, _You can run when he lets go of you. _ It was true, Bruce had noticed Tony about to make an attempt to run, probably right into the magic barrier. That wouldn't end well. He had no choice but to just hold him down. Luckily Tony wasn't actually very strong without his suits, not that Bruce was all that impressive when he wasn't a green behemoth, either.

"…Bruce?" Tony asked shakily after a few tense moments. "Am I having a heart attack?" Bruce sighed and let go of his shoulders. He seemed to be calming down, thank God.

"No, just a severe anxiety attack." Bruce explained. "Relax. Don't think about anything right now. Just breathe." Tony took several deep, steadying breaths and slumped back against the wall as he felt some of the tension drain away. A few more minutes passed and he opened his eyes warily.

"Tony?" Bruce asked. "Are you in there?"

"Yeah, I think so." Tony replied, feeling utterly exhausted. Great, now he had a headache and chest pains to go along with the third degree burn. Just fucking great. Thank God for Bruce. He'd have probably killed himself trying to run straight into that magic space voodoo barrier if he hadn't gotten through to him.

"Just try to stay calm." Bruce said softly. "I'm here; you're not alone. We'll get through this together."

"I know. Thanks." Tony replied sheepishly. "Thanks, man."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Bruce asked, sitting next to Tony and letting him lean against him. Tony shook his head, and was grateful beyond words when Bruce didn't press the subject. Instead, they talked about that ugly new statue in Central Park that had been erected as a memorial of the whole Loki's army crisis – about how Loki had said that it looked like the Hulk had a bastard child with a bilgesnipe. Whatever the hell that was. And, how they were gonna have a Shawarma date when this was all over with. Anything but their current situation. If Tony just closed his eyes and listened to Bruce talk, he could pretend they were sitting on the floor in his workshop. They had done that a few times; there was only one chair. He should really buy a chair for Bruce.

* * *

When Loki finally woke from his brief magic-recovering slumber, his first thought was that he was warm. Warm? He was never warm. Then with a jolt, he remembered where he was. Robin was still snuggled against him, fast asleep. She mumbled in her sleep, but didn't seem to be having nightmares of any kind. He let out a soft sigh and closed his eyes. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to stay like this a while longer. He couldn't remember the last time he'd woken up feeling warm and comfortable with someone else beside him. Surely, it had been centuries ago. Usually he'd just leave after some kind of tryst, not really wanting to be reminded of some meaningless sex in the morning. He looked over his shoulder to see that Odin was sitting in the chair boredly leafing through one of his spellbooks that Frigga had brought him while he was there. In a way, it angered him that his things were still there – as if Odin had just planned to throw him back in there. But then, he probably _had _been planning on that. He couldn't afford to wait any longer, even if the last thing he wanted to was to lose the warmth of Robin pressed against him. Resignedly, he gently shook her awake. She yawned and stretched. She didn't say thing to him as he climbed out of the bed and looked out into the apparently deserted hallway. Well, aside from the two guards by the stairs.

"All right, listen. I am going to need both of you to co-operate with me if we are going to get out of here." Loki explained. "Odin, are you any use in a fight without Gungnir? Because I am going to need it. Can a sword stolen from one of the guards suffice?"

"Of course." Odin said plainly. "Though it pains me to take orders from _you_." Loki decided to ignore the slight for now and carry on with explaining his plan.

"When I break through the barrier, we are going to split up. Odin, I need you to take out those two guards by stairs – as quietly as possible before the alert the other guards. If we can keep them from raising the alarm, we will have more time. Robin, follow Odin and steal the bow and arrows from that one on the left, then follow me." Loki told them quickly but concisely. Robin nodded in understanding. "Odin, do you think you can hold off the Einherjar near the stairs, once they manage to raise the alarm, while I free the other mortals?"

"I can buy time, but I will not be able to hold the position for long. If you can, please try to keep the killing to a minimum – these men are being controlled, it is not their own will to fight against us." Odin answered. "But, if we can keep them from raising the alarm we should have enough time."

"It will have to do. Keep the area secure to the best of your ability. Robin, just follow me and stay close. You might be able to beat up an armed bank robber, but you are no match for the Einherjar." Loki explained quickly. "All right, shall we do this?" Loki called up his magic and the air around them seemed to ripple and contort as Gungnir seemingly popped into existence out of thin air. If Robin weren't trying so hard to keep calm, she would stared in amazement as the all the laws of physics were pretty much shit on right in front of her eyes. Taking a deep breath, Loki pressed the point of Gungnir to the enchanted barrier and leaned all of his weight onto the shaft.

Magic shimmered through the air like electricity, making Robin's hair stand on end. The barrier gave way with some effort, and shattered like glass as it fell to the floor in splintered pieces. The two guards responded immediately, but Odin was ready and he incapacitated them easily with his bare hands. They didn't even make a sound before they fell to the ground deeply unconscious. He threw the bow and quiver to Robin who ran in his direction. She caught them deftly and tore after Loki who was already running down the hall, checking cells as he went. He paused before one and motioned for the occupants to stand clear. Robin could see Steve and Natasha inside. They scrambled to their feet and backed up against the far wall. This wall gave way _much _easier, it fell away with a light tap. But of course, the cell holding Loki and Odin had to be something special in order to contain their magic. Though, a whole lot of good that hod done with Gungnir in his possession.

"Stay close!" Loki barked orders to the freed Avengers. "Are either of you injured? Do you know where the others are?"

"Natasha burnt her hand on the wall." Steve said. "Fury is right there and we saw them take Bruce, Clint and Tony further down." Loki didn't wait for answer from Natasha, he just grabbed her burnt hand and used his magic to heal it. She stared at it in shock for a moment before removing her gun from her hip holster and unlocking the safety. Loki wasted no time freeing Fury, who luckily wasn't stupid enough to touch the barrier. He looked none too pleased to be rescued by Loki, but kept his mouth shut and loaded his gun as well. They found Clint alone a few cells down. He also joined their merry little band without a word. Bruce and Tony were at the very end. When he broke down the barrier, Tony literally hugged Loki. _It must be snowing in Hel,_ He thought as he managed to get Tony off of him.

"Loki, he burnt himself, too." Robin said, noticing Tony's hand that was wrapped somewhat awkwardly in a torn piece of Bruce's shirt. Loki shook his head and healed it.

"I find it absolutely hilarious that it is the two most intelligent members of this little group that managed to injure themselves in such a way." Loki commented with a touch of humor. "Now, we are all here, and we are going to have to fight our way out. Obviously. Our priority right now is to get to the throne room. If we can take out Thanos, the rest will fall with ease. Go! We cannot waste time here!" Loki said and led them back through the hall. As they reached the end, they could hear the sound of Odin fighting off the guards. Robin and Clint fell back, nocking arrows in their bows as Loki and the other joined the fray. Tony stayed behind Clint and Robin seeing as he was frankly useless without one of his suits, He did, however, grab a pair of daggers from a fallen Einherjar. They did their best to keep the slaughter to a minimum. The majority of the guardsmen were just knocked out cold. Natasha and Fury looked a little beat up, but Steve was more than a match for them with his super strength. Loki and Odin hardly seemed bothered. Within minutes, the entire company sent to secure the dungeons were lying either dead or unconscious at their feet. Robin and Clint both agreed that they doubted they actually killed any of them if three bullets to the chest hadn't killed Loki. If any of them were indeed dead, it would've been the ones that Loki and Odin were forced to use more powerful attacks against. Or, possibly the ones the hulk had gotten ahold of. But even he had been able to mostly restrain himself.

Once in the palace proper, it was easy to pick off the guards by having Robin and Clint shoot them from around corners. Well, it was easy until they ran into Thor and a beautiful but lethal looking warrior maiden. Sif, Loki called her. For a moment, they just stared in surprise. Thor was the first to react, hurling the hammer Mjolnir straight at Loki who dodged it and threw one of his daggers at him mostly as a distraction.

"Go!" Loki said. "I will handle this!" Robin did not want to leave him, but Odin forcibly grabbed her by the arm and half dragged her along with them. He did not let go until he was sure she would follow. He wasn't sure what was going through his mind, really. But the mortal obviously meant something to Loki. If she were killed he would lose his will to fight. Right now, Asgard needed all the help it could get – even if it had to be from a liar and a traitor.

"Thor!" Loki yelled, dodging Sif's attacks. "I know you are inside that thick skull somewhere!" This was worse than Heimdall. Thor was stronger than him and Sif was faster. He needed to conserve his magic if he intended to last in a fight with Thanos and his minions. He would also need Thor, _and_ Sif if he could get her back to her senses. The more help they had the better.

"Silence! You dare to insult me!" Thor roared and came at Loki. Loki jumped aside at the last second and kicked Sif hard in the gut simultaneously. She hunched over, catching her breath. It hadn't been enough to wound her, but it did get her out of the picture for a few moments.

"Oh, but that is what I do best, dear brother! But I tire of this game." Loki said, deciding to risk it. Thor was nothing if not sentimental. "Mother would not want us to fight. We must work together to protect Asgard." This was a dangerous card to play, and Loki's body was as taught as a bowstring. He could make evasive maneuvers if necessary, but to Thor he looked vulnerable. The Thunderer hesitated, but only for a second. It didn't matter, it was working he could see it in Thor's eyes. Loki grinned to himself. _You always were so predictable, _he observed, diving to the side to avoid Sif coming at him with renewed fury. _Damn she is scary_, he had to admit. Even more so with such empty eyes.

"Thor! Aren't you going to help me? You always used to protect me when I –" Sif landed a nasty hit that not only sent Loki flying but sliced a nasty gash open in his side. He hissed in pain and tried to call on his magic to heal it, but she was too fast and he was cornered. "Thor!" He cried in desperation as Sif kicked him hard in his wounded side and he fell in a heap. _No, get up! _He tried to tell himself. _I can__'__t die here. Robin__…_He flinched, but the blow never came. Instead, he heard Sif shriek as she was thrown bodily against the wall. Thor went for her but looked to Loki, hesitating. The trickster could see the battle of wills going on behind his eyes. He used the opportunity heal himself and knock Sif off her feet with the butt of Gungnir's staff.

"Fight it, Thor! I am on your side!" He shouted as he managed to pin Sif to the wall. She thrashed viciously and managed to kick him right in the groin. He grunted in surprise and doubled over. Gungnir fell to the ground beside him with a loud metallic clatter. Well, _that _was something new. No one had ever had the gall to try that one on him before. He had to admit, it hurt almost as much as giving birth, and he really didn't want to think about _that._ But Sif didn't get the opportunity to attack, as Thor whacked her right over the head with Mjolnir. She made a startled sound and passed out cold.

"Loki! Are you injured? How did you get here! What in the names of the Norns is going on?" Thor cried nearly in one jumbled sentence as he knelt beside Loki. He waved his hand dismissively as the pain began passing.

"Good to have you back. No, and it is a long story. Is she dead?" Loki sputtered. "If she's not, she will be. I cannot believe she kicked me there. I swear, what happened to that disgusting sense of honor of hers?" Thor laughed and clapped Loki's shoulder fondly.

"I don't think so." Thor replied. Loki composed himself, somewhat, and checked over Sif. He could not feel the touch of Thanos power in her anymore, Thor must had hit her hard enough to drive him out. He healed her and she awakened with a groan.

"What… Where… _You._" She muttered and made to grab Loki by the throat, but Thor stopped her.

"He just saved your life, and you repaid him by kicking him in the manhood." Thor explained and she smiled devilishly. _Good,_ Loki could almost hear her thinking. He muttered something mutinously, but his eyes were still watering. "Ask all those questions later, Sif. For now – Loki, what is going on and who do I need to introduce to Mjolnir?"

"Thanos. He's taken the throne of Asgard. We don't know why, only that he has the Tesseract. Heimdall is still under his spell, I could not get through to him. Odin and the avengers are heading for the throne room. He is probably there, or at least possibly the Other. …Or someone whom he trusts to be in command." Loki explained, realizing that no one really knew anything about the Chitauri except for him. "Most of the Einherjar are under his control as well, we have been doing our best not to kill them. So keep that in mind on the way. We need to hurry! Come on!" Thor and Sif followed without argument, gathering some extra weapons from the fallen Einherjar that the others had left in their wake.

"It is good to have you back, brother, The Loki that I remember from so long ago." Thor said as they ran. Loki looked back at him and tried not to roll his eyes. Thor and his sentiments. But having Thor back on his side was no small comfort.


	13. Homeward Bound

Notes: Never let a kitten decide your fate. It probably won't end well.

* * *

**Chapter 13: Homeward Bound**

* * *

Reaching the throne room was anticlimactic. There was no one there, not even the Einherjar. Robin looked around nervously from where she stood behind Steve. It was a definitely an impressive place. She felt very small in the shadows of the great columns the filled the chamber. Many of them were broken, as was the throne itself. It looked like something huge had crash landed in the middle of the place and strewn debris everywhere. She wondered momentarily if Thanos was responsible for the destruction, but Odin paid it no mind. It seemed like he was used to seeing it in that state. Perhaps this happened when the dark elves attacked. He gripped the hilt of the sword he'd stolen tightly as he approached the throne and kicked the edge of the raised dais below it angrily. No, there was no one here.

"Who does this Thanos guy think he is?" Tony asked voicing everyone's thoughts and breaking the silence. His voice echoed eerily in the empty hall. "I mean, what kind of jackass conquers a country, realm, whatever and just leaves? If it were me, I'd park my ass right on that throne and wait for my not so loving subjects to come kiss my feet and feed me grapes like goddamn Caesar."

"Maybe Asgard isn't really significant to his actual goal?" Bruce suggested, no longer a giant green rage monster. Held held up the remnants of his pants awkwardly. "Why bother staying when his magic could control everyone here?"

"He couldn't control everyone in all of Asgard, though." Steve said. "That can't be possible. Right?" Of course, everyone looked to the resident tech genius and the director of SHIELD for an answer. Tony shrugged nonchalantly. Fury admitted that SHIELD actually knew next to nothing about the Tesseract other than it being an energy source and a gateway. Robin wanted to kick something. How were they supposed to gain the upper hand against an enemy with a weapon they knew nothing about? If anyone other than Loki even knew anything about the Chitauri which was also starting to look highly unlikely.

"He has the Infinity Stone, anything is possible." Odin finally replied as he turned away from the throne, shedding some light on the subject. "The Tesseract as your people call it. I have no idea what it is really capable of. Loki does, but I am loathe to trust him."

"It feels like a trap, like we were lured here." Robin added. "I wonder if Thor was under Thanos' control when he came to visit. Loki did say that he was acting strange."

"I do not recall visiting Midgard, so probably I was." The motley crew of Avengers and the King of Asgard whirled around to see Thor approaching calmly with Sif and Loki as his sides. Sif looked a little battered, but the two men didn't seem any worse for the wear. The warrior maiden regarded Robin with an odd, searching stare. She turned away, something told her not to pick a fight with that particular woman. She had a feeling she could kick Natasha's ass and that was saying something. Robin did, however give Loki a faint smile which he surprisingly returned.

'What _is _the last thing you remember?" Loki asked, folding his arms across his chest in a rather... womanly position. Robin tried not to smirk. It wasn't the time to pick on Loki's occasional total lack of masculinity. Thor explained hastily that the last thing he remembered was the Tesseract being stolen, but they didn't know by whom. He and Sif had tracked the thief to Alfheim, but the last thing they could recall was Heimdall turning on them when they tried to leave. They had no idea where the warriors three were. Robin heaved a tired sigh and sat on the edge of the dais that supported the broken throne. Odin glared daggers at her, but she ignored him. He could kiss her mortal ass, it wasn't much of a throne anymore anyway. It looked more like a pile of vaguely golden rubble if anything. Loki and Thor sat on either side of her as they discussed what little they knew of the situation. Odin, it seemed, was the most aware as he been imprisoned rather than possessed. Still, he knew next to nothing that was actually all that useful. They didn't exactly hold war councils in the dungeons, and it was impossible to hear anything the guards discussed through the barrier.

"So, what now? Do we go to Alfheim, brother?" Thor asked. Loki shook his head, but seemed deeply in thought.

"We need to get the Avengers home." He said after a while. "This is not their fight. Or even yours, it is _mine_."

"Yours?" Odin said incredulously. "While I would not doubt you are somehow responsible, how is this battle yours, and yours alone?" Loki glared at Odin. He had been avoiding this, but he could not run anymore. It was time he told the whole story – about wha_t really _happened when he fell from the Bifrost.

At first, there had been nothing. It was silence, shadow and weightlessness. Slowly but surely, Loki began losing himself to insanity. Vulnerable and desperate – that was where the Chitauri found the fallen God. His memories of that time were sparse, but the pain he could never forget. There was nothing but pain. He was made to understand that death was a great honor – given only to those worthy of it. _Worthy. _How he despised that word. He was _worthy _of nothing. Odin had made sure he fully understood that simple fact. Loki's natural magical ability to heal quickly meant that he was never given a light beating. When the day was over, he lay in his holding cell bleeding and broken. Broken was the word for it, both physically and mentally. Usually he would be mostly healed by the morning and... Rinse and repeat. One day, his torturers spoke of the need for a massive portal to invade some place in the Skrull galaxy. Loki knew of whispers of an ancient artifact that could give them that and began hatching a scheme to escape.

After a particularly nasty day in the torture rooms, where he had literally begged for death and meant every word of it, he decided he could take no more. He was willing to do _anything_ to get away from these foul creatures. All he could think of as he watched his own blood pool at his bare feet was that he had to get _away_. Anywhere. By _any_ means. He didn't care what it took, or who he had kill.

"I know of something! Something powerful enough to create the portal your master needs!" Loki screamed, and coughed up blood. He tried not to vomit from the revolting taste of it in his mouth. Not that that they had fed him anything, but the dry heaves were agony. The two repulsive creatures regarded him in silence before releasing him from his bindings and threw him face first against the filthy blood soaked floor. Soaked. With _his _blood. Loki retched and curled into a fetal position. They bade him to speak and he told everything he knew of the item called the Tesseract, and that he knew where it was. He could get it for them if only they released him. He refused to tell them where it was kept, if they didn't release him they wouldn't get it. Take it or leave it. In the end, Thanos agreed. Even in the height of desperation, Loki's tongue was a lethal weapon with no equal.

The deal turned out to be better than that, Thanos offered him kingship over the realm of Midgard if he could get them the Tesseract. ...On the condition that Midgard would be used to test the capacity of the Portal it could create. Loki did not particularly want to unleash the Chitauri on Midgard, but he had no choice. Thor hated him, Odin hated him – hell Frigga probably even had given up on him. He had nothing to lose and if a few thousand innocent people had to die – fine. He was a God anyway. They would learn to fear his name. But the part that _really _mattered was that he could get away. The pain would stop, maybe he'd even be able to find himself somewhere in the muddled mess that his mind had become.

And so he led the invasion against Midgard. He wanted to warn the mortals, but he could not. Why would they listen to him? The only option he had was to intentionally fail. That was dangerous. "You will long for something as sweet as pain_",_ They had warned him. That Promise, Loki knew the Chitauri would make good on. But even in his state of fear, Loki was able to leave out enough details, able to make the necessary "mistakes". In the end, more people had died than he had intended. He felt almost relieved when he was captured. If death awaited Loki in Asgard, he welcomed it. Instead he was imprisoned, but that was fine too. He as _safe _there. No one would hurt him anymore. Well, not physically at least. Eventually, as he stewed in the dungeons, he remembered bits and pieces of _who _he was. He was Loki, son of Laufey, and he was no longer the Chitauri's prisoner. Slowly, his sanity returned to him as well. Frigga, and even Thor's occasional visits brought him hope that he did still have a chance to find his place. But it was that promise of what would come of failure that never escaped his mind. Loki knew the Chitauri would come for him one day. And the Tesseract. That day had come sooner than he expected.

"Well Reindeer Games, I had been wondering if you were screwing up on purpose now that I actually know you a little bit." Tony said once Loki finished his tale. The others stood in silence. Steve looked angry, if anything. But the others could easily tell it was not because he blamed Loki anymore at this point. He did not abide by torture, and this was a prime of example of why it was such a horrible thing. Not that he'd get in the way of SHIELD having their way with a prisoner. He was far too much of a loyal lapdog to do that. Or just not particularly suicidal. "You are way too smart for the dumbass moves you made back then. It's still our fight, though. Maybe you started it, but it's _our _planet they tried to fuck over." Tony added when no one else said anything.

"Yeah, no offense, but we are the _Avengers._" Clint told Loki and clapped his shoulder in a friendly manner. Natasha's face quite clearly mirrored the thoughts going through Robin's mind at seeing the gesture. That was not something that would have been easy for Clint to do. "I think we deserve a little revenge, you know? I've given up on getting the chance to kick your ass for what you did to me, so I'll just have to take it out on this Thanos guy. It sounds like it's mostly his fault anyway." Loki smiled in spite of himself. He knew Clint well enough to be aware that this was the equivalent of him getting down on one knee to swear his forgiveness and kiss his boots.

"That point, I cannot argue." He conceded. "But Robin goes home. We have to anyway, Stark is useless without his armor. And someone has to feed my cat." Robin giggled, Thor was still sitting next to her and gave her an odd look. Of course he hadn't forgotten about Frigga.

"It is our fight as well." Sif interjected as she picked dried blood out of her hair from when Thor whacked her with Mjollnir. "Those foul creatures dared to taint Asgard with their filth. They will pay thrice fold for what they have done. At this point, Loki's place in this is irrelevant. Every last one of them is as good as dead. And, hopefully many of them by my blade."

"You can use the Bifrost. I will deal with Heimdall. Wait one hour, then come to the gatehouse." Odin said and left them. Robin watched him leave, his cape billowing behind him as he went. So that was it. She'd played her part. It was over. She was just going to back to Stark Tower and start properly doing her job and it would be like none of this ever happened. Well, Fuck that. No way in hell.

"No." She said aloud. "I am not going home." The others all turned to look at her.

"You will get yourself killed." Thor said flatly. "You are mortal. You are not strong enough." He had no idea who the woman was, but she did not look to be cut of the right cloth to possibly be a new member of the Avengers. And she had to be mortal, right? She was dressed in a way similar to Jane with a knee length skirt, simple heels and a casual looking blazer. Nothing about her suggested any ability to fight at all, aside from the Asgardian bow and quiver of arrows slung over her shoulder.

"I am just as strong as you. Albeit in other ways." Robin retorted. "I might not be any good if it comes to blows, but I see just as well from a distance as Agent Barton." She added, pointing at the bow. Thor noticed welts on the pads of her fingers from shooting it without gloves as she made the gesture. So she had used the bow to help fight their way out of the dungeon. Clint nodded in agreement when Thor looked questioningly in his direction. Why then, was Loki being so protective of her if she was capable of easily defending herself? It was most out of character for him,that was for certain.

"I do not deny that you are strong, but that does not matter. You will go home. I would not be able to live with myself if you came to harm because of me." Loki snapped. "There will be no more argument on that subject."

"But -" Robin began.

"No. Please, just trust me. You are the only one that does, anyway." Loki begged her.

"Why? So you can leave me there while you claim the throne of Asgard and everything else you wanted? And I – I'll never see you again. Will I?" She accused him, surprised by the shrill, judgmental words that escaped her, and the desperation behind them. What was she thinking? Again, obviously she wasn't. But could she really be happy with never seeing him again? The God of mischief had somehow become a part of her life and she wasn't able to accept letting him go. She had taken his presence for granted. She _never _took anything for granted. What was becoming of her?

"I do not care about the throne of Asgard. Not anymore, anyway. But I _do _care about you. Never question that. I do not know when I will see you again, but I will return eventually." Loki assured her, trying to fight the urge to just tell her to come along. He would give anything to have her there, but it was not worth endangering her life for.

"What if _you _get killed?" She cried. "What then?"

"I will not - "

"ENOUGH!" Both Loki and Robin jumped at the sound of Tony's voice. They both fixed him with an identical venomous stare that unnerved him. For a moment, he honestly thought he should shut up. But nah, he is Tony fucking Stark and he's nothing if not a little impulsive. "I'm just saying that If _I _were breaking up with my mortal girlfriend for an undetermined amount of time, I'd make damn good use of this hour, yeah? Better use than this pathetic sniping , anyway. You know, considering you've been trying so desperately to get in her pants for the past month. And failing, I might add. How about it, Bambi?"

"Oh, so you noticed that? I was actually just... Wait! She is not my - " Loki began, but stopped talking when Robin slapped Tony across the face so hard he fell over. The sound of it echoed loudly through the empty chamber. Thor started laughing so heartily he could barely breathe. He couldn't help but think of when Jane had met Loki and given him a similar greeting. Robin was a lot tougher than Jane, though. He could tell. Loki just shook his head and swore in old Norse. Steve, Bruce, Clint and Natasha laughed as well. Tony muttered indignantly and rubbed his now swollen cheek. And then Loki laughed, too. He really couldn't stop it, not after the shocked hurt puppy look on Stark's face and the way Robin glared at him like an angry viper.

"Brother, no one is in the servants' quarters there. We can guard the door." Thor suggested, trying to be helpful and not to burst into laughter again. Tony, Bruce and the others were not as successful. Steve just kind of looked the other way and half hid behind his shield; his face was as red as a beet. Why did Stark always have to go and make everything so damn awkward?

"Shut up, Thor. I am not bedding _anyone _in the servants' quarters. For _any _reason. I still have my pride, damn it all!" Loki snarled. "I would sooner take her right here in the middle of the floor."

"I am totally _not_ doing that. I'll do it back in that prison cell with Odin watching us before I do it on the floor. At least there was a bed in there. And if _has _to be here, at least handcuff me to throne and have some fun with it." Robin muttered sarcastically. This time even Fury laughed. He didn't particularly like what he'd seen so far of the King of Asgard, and it was a pretty damn funny image. Loki rolled his eyes, but Robin knew he was seriously considering the comment about chaining her to the throne. That was not going to end well for her and she knew it. Damn her sarcasm.

"I would not expect you to." Loki said, making a face. "Either way is revolting. Besides, I would need more than an hour to make her first time special. Unless you would rather have that honor, Stark. Seeing as this is such an important concern for you." Robin Blushed and tried to ignore everyone giggling. Yep, she still hated him. Just in a different way.

"Are you sure it's not just about those performance issues?" Tony piped up and skittered behind Steve. Loki just glared at him, and luckily for Tony's sake, Odin chose that moment to reappear with Heimdall at his side. Loki tried to hide the embarrassment on his face. He knew they must have heard at least some of this nonsense. He coughed and looked away. Odin didn't comment, but Heimdall's mouth twitched in the slightest hint of an amused smile.

"Loki, you will have to use the secret paths to leave Asgard. The Bifrost is being watched." The stoic gatekeeper told them. "The Chitauri are preparing to strike against Midgard. Waste no time. Odin and I will keep Asgard closed to them."

"Sif, you will stay with us as well." The king added. She agreed, but looked more than a little aggravated about not being able to kick some Chitauri ass.

"Thinking of handcuffs..." Bruce said to Loki as they left the throne room. "Do you know where I could acquire a pair of the ones they put on me to keep the hulk under control?" Loki frowned as he thought about it. He knew those things all too well.

"As long as you swear not to use them on me." Loki replied. Bruce agreed and swore on his life, so they stopped by the abandoned guard's barracks to get Bruce a pair of the handcuffs before leaving for Midgard. Loki was not entirely sure that was a good idea but he doubted he would be giving the avengers any reason to forcefully restrain him again any time soon. Well, unless they took petty trickery a bit too personally...

"I can't wait to take these apart and see how they work." Tony said, examining them as they made their way out of the palace. "These _are _pretty badass, sorry for yelling at you before, Brucey."

* * *

The trip back through Loki's 'secret pathways' had been pretty interesting. Robin thought it would have been a lot more fun if Tony and Bruce would shut the hell up about all their scientific nonsense. Obviously the laws of physics didn't apply to traveling through a tear in the fabric of the universe, so whatever. Either way she was anything but happy to be back in Stark Tower. They'd all told her to go upstairs, that she wasn't allowed to be a part of this for her own safety. She restlessly paced the length of the living area on her and Loki's floor. Frigga, who was feeling much better, followed at her heels. Robin was fuming, but it was hard to stay angry with the little black ball of fur following her around like that. Distractedly, she scooped her up and flopped down on the couch. Boredly, she picked at the gold hemming on throw pillow. She sat there for a while staring out the window while Frigga swatted at a few stray locks of her hair. Robin wasn't usually restless, antsy or hyperactive. No, she had an absolutely unerring sense of patience. Well, until she reached the end of the rope apparently.

"I dunno kid." She said to the kitten. "I think I'm losing my mind. Being handcuffed to the throne of Asgard while Loki has his way with me is starting to look like a _good _image. Please kill me." Frigga stared at Robin intently for a moment. Just as it was about to thoroughly freak her out, the kitten leaped for a string hanging from her sweater sleeve. Frigga was lucky. She had not a care in the world and was well on her way to being spoiled rotten. It looked like Clint had went crazy in the cat toy section at the supermarket while she and Loki were at High Point. There were fake mice scattered all over the floor and furniture. The tiny feline was beside herself. Eventually she wore herself out and curled up on the couch beside Robin. She got up and went to the window.

Below her, New York City was going about its usual routine. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Life just went on – like there wasn't another impending alien invasion. The city lights still shone, blurring out the stars. That was the one thing she missed about home. She couldn't see the stars. Well, not nearly as many at any rate. If Robin was going to be honest about it, she was glad that everyone had to come back here instead of buggering off Alfheim and leaving her behind. Maybe she wouldn't be of any use, but at least she'd be nearby. _Loki _would be nearby. Frigga attacked Robin's shoelaces and she lost the chain of thought. She mumbled a string of curses and scooped the kitten up. Absently, she placed her on her shoulder. Frigga scrabbled around a bit, but held on with her little claws and touched noses with her reflection in the window.

"Sometimes I wonder if the earth is worth saving, you know?" Robin said to Frigga. She nuzzled the side of her face. It tickled and Robin giggled. "I mean, what has earth ever done for me? I get stuck with a shitty family, in a shitty town with shitty friends. The one good friend dies and what's left goes to pot. I get stuck working for the world's biggest asshole. Don't get me wrong, he's a good person – but Stark is a giant dick. Nevermind that I'm a twenty seven year old virgin. And for as much as I joke about it, I have no intention of changing that. The way things are for me, I'll probably be like my mom and end up married to an abusive bastard. It's mostly my fault, though. Books are much better company than men. They don't whine and they don't demand anything from you. And they don't give a shit if you'd rather wear beat up t-shirts and jeans instead of slutty dresses." She started pacing again. Frigga held on and seemed to be having the time of her life as she swatted at Robin's hair again.

"Loki." She said aloud and shook her head. "I have to stop thinking about him, too. It's getting stupid. My lifespan is nothing compared to his. Wanting to be with him would be selfish. Well, maybe. There could be a way me for him to magic me immortal or something. The Gods did have those golden apples, right? Maybe. If they are real and not just another silly myth that's only half truth. Yeah, I am pretty selfish. But dating the God of mischief doesn't sound like all that awesome of an idea anyway. It is sounds like the name of a crappy amateur bondage porn, actually." Talking to herself was something Robin didn't do too often, but when she couldn't figure out which way was up, it helped. A lot. Frigga purred and climbed over to Robin's other shoulder.

"You have some serious ADD, cat." She said, her lips twitching into a slight smile. She took Frigga and put her on top of the counter of the minibar. Well, she sure wasn't making any sense of this mess, maybe Loki's evil minion of fluff and love could help. Robin took a bottle of Budweiser and Bacardi out of the cooler and put them on the counter about two feet apart. She scooted the kitten over to be roughly in the middle of them. Frigga looked at the alcohol curiously.

"All right kiddo. Help me out here. It's about Loki. Beer if you think it's a bad idea to fall in love with him like a retarded fangirl. Rum if if it's a good idea, because I'm going to have be a lot drunker to get through that conversation." Frigga cocked her head to the side and gave Robin a questioning look. "Well? What do you think?" The kitten's ears perked up she spoke. Curiously, she looked from one bottle to the other. _Holy shit, what the hell? She's actually thinking, _Robin realized with horror. She could almost hear the little gears turning in Frigga's head. _Yup, definitely need to be three sheets to the wind yesterday. _She looked up at Robin before shuffling over to the Bacardi. Robin bit her lip as Frigga rubbed her face against the bottle the way cats do when they're marking something with their scent.

"All right. Space Viking queen it is. I am _such_ a fucking masochist." Robin said as she broke the seal on the Bacardi and Frigga mewled in a way was far too approving to be normal.

* * *

After the "war council" as Thor had called it, Tony and Bruce sat together in Tony's workshop alone with the pair of handcuff's Loki had stolen for Bruce. Bruce watched closely as Tony very carefully began dismantling them. Bruce was literally holding his breath as Tony removed a sort of outer casing. The insides seemed to be an intricate mess of tiny brass gears and bits of glass. Or maybe it was some kind of crystal, Bruce couldn't tell. If anything, the construction seemed like some kind of epic steampunk nightmare. Tony examined the inner workings of the mechanism with a jewelers loupe and couldn't help but whistle in amazement.

"This is really something." Tony said, carefully pulling out a piece of the clear glassy material. "Like I said, not magic. It's all science. This is just ordinary glass. This is basically one hell of a circuit board. Not bad for for a bunch of guys who party hardy and live like it's the stone age. Actually, not bad at all. This is _awesome. _These things put the innards of a Rolex to shame." Tony rambled. He had Jarvis set up hologram blueprints of the cuffs as he took them apart painstakingly bit by bit. Bruce wondered for a moment if Tony had a boner for this sort of thing, because the excited glint in his eyes said it all, really.

"So, in theory, could you replicate what these do in something smaller that might look like normal bracelets?" Bruce asked, excitedly. Tony stopped what he was doing and looked up at Bruce with a smirk.

"That 'personal project' you've been working on for years... Is a way to get rid of the other guy, isn't it?" Tony asked. Bruce sighed and looked at the nearly complete 3D rendered blueprints of the cuffs. There was a sort of distant, almost fearful look in his eyes. "It is." Tony supplied when Bruce didn't answer. But why did Bruce want to keep that a secret? Tony, hell even SHIELD, would leap at the chance to help with that. Albeit SHIELD would do it for different reasons, but it would be useful input from a scientific point of view.

"At first, yeah. But I think I would just rather be able to control it. So I could still be of some use to the Avengers. Aside from sewing you all back together after you get asses kicked, I mean." Bruce explained, not looking at Tony. Oh, well that made sense.

"Is that why you never told anyone?" Tony inquired as he examined a different piece of the insulation glass. "You were afraid we'd kick you out of our super secret boy scout troupe if mean and green goes on a permanent vacation?" Bruce nodded mutely. Tony sighed and put the tools down. How could Bruce really think that? And of course, Tony was too busy worrying about stupid Loki and what he was or more likely wasn't potting. And, as usual, forgetting about what actually matters. Classic Tony Stark.

"Brucey, that would never happen." Tony told him. "We're friends. Hell, we're more like an epic dysfunctional family. Think about it, they won't get rid of me. But without my suits, what use am I? Nothing. I'm just a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist. And I could be wrong here, but I really doubt that means jack shit when it counts. Like, what if the Chitauri showed up and I couldn't get to a suit? Instead of kicking ass I'd be hiding under a bar counter in Brooklyn sucking down a cheap scotch and hoping I don't die. Never mind the fact that I'm a shameless asshole and 99.9% of humanity hates me unless it has to do with my tech. If I'm still around, believe me Bruce, you aren't going anywhere. We'll find a way to make this work for you. I'm nothing if not a genius. Between the two of us, we've got this. It's just a matter of time." Damn, Capcicle would be proud of him. That was one hell of a pep-talk. A Tony Stark pep talk – who the hell could have seen that coming?

"I never actually thought of it that way. ..Thanks." Bruce admitted and leaned forward against the counter. "With these, I can in theory have full control and still be able to let the other guy take over when he's needed."

"I thought you could control it, though." Tony mused as he went back to examining the cuffs. Bruce was quiet for a moment. Part of him wanted to tell Tony the real reasons, the other half was ashamed to admit them. Noticing the silence, Tony gave him a pleading look. "I won't tell anyone no matter how drunk I am, Pinky swear? The more you tell me, the better of a job I can do to help you figure this out."

"I don't always have control. The anger thing I've got under wraps, but it's not just anger that triggers it. Anything that gets me too... excited can cause an incident. I've tried to fix that, but meditation and anger management don't work for everything." Bruce explained awkwardly.

"So, basically you can't have sex." Tony surmised, stating the obvious. Bruce nodded. "Well, that... That fucking blows. Can you even masturbate? Whatever. Doesn't matter. We're going to fix it."

"You mean you can make this design into something more functional?" Bruce asked, hopefully and pointedly ignored Tony's question which was mostly rhetorical anyway.

"I am pretty much the best engineer in the world. Not brag or anything." Tony said with a smirk. "We might need a little help from our resident God, though." Tony added with a touch of annoyance. Once everything was removed from the outer shell of the cuffs, he could see some kind of runes carved along the inside. He hoped it was some kind of fancy alien corporate copyright, but he doubted it. The cuffs had all the workings of an electrical device, but no power source. Tony assumed they must draw power from the person wearing them, or possibly generate their own energy somehow. But the thing was, the energy flow had to come from _somewhere_ and it wasn't part of the cuffs.

"Damn it." Bruce muttered. "Do you think he would help? When I asked him, he didn't seem very keen on stealing a pair of these. He was afraid we would use them on him."

"I do, yeah. He's a definitely an asshole. He is _the _asshole. But he's more like my brand of asshole that actually cares instead of the bag of cats he used to be. He did it Bruce, he's really getting his shit together. I think so anyway. I can hardly believe it. Our little baby God of mischief is all grown up." Tony said resolutely. Bruce made a face, but smiled at the comment. "Good thing, I guess. It's got to be a felony or something to ship live cargo in a priority mail box to Asgard." Bruce snorted and shook his head in an amused way. Tony's unique way of bringing humor into the most tense of situations had to be a super power of some sort.


	14. Lunch wants to be a Space Viking

Notes: Cats are manipulative little shits.

* * *

**Chapter 14: Lunch wants to be a Space Viking**

* * *

Robin was drunk as hell. If someone had asked her, she wouldn't be able to recall if she'd _ever _been this drunk. She probably should've realized this was a bad idea after the twelfth shot of rum, and before downing the bottle of Budweiser she'd left out for good measure. She was draped across the couch, face down in a throw pillow with Frigga curled up in the small of her back. The room was spinning. It was all she could do not to just puke all over the the place. _I have got to be dying_. She thought to herself. ...And that was the last thing she remembered before she woke up in her bed the next morning with the God of mischief fast asleep beside her and a hangover for the record books.

* * *

When Loki had finally managed to extricate himself from that pathetic excuse for a "war council" he went upstairs fully intent on having a nice, hot shower and passing out in his bed until someone came to make sure he had not, in fact, died in there. Though, as usual, nothing went as planned. Really, he should be used to that by now. When did anything go right for him? Well, that wasn't entirely true. But just because something had gone right didn't mean it adhered to his meticulous plotting. This time, he blamed Robin – or possibly Stark for being a terrible role model. And it was quite the scene.

Judging by the empty bottle of alcohol on the floor beside her, she had pulled a Tony Stark and drunk herself into oblivion. _Oh, but this is most certainly my fault somehow, _Loki complained to himself as he went make sure Robin wasn't dead - because she looked pretty dead. She wasn't, though. Thankfully. She was half hanging off the sofa in the most awkward position with Frigga asleep on top her. Loki sighed and picked her up with ease. He laid her on her bed and threw the covers over her prone form. Just as he reached the door she mumbled something incoherent.

"Care to repeat that?" Loki asked, a little annoyed that she'd done this to herself. He was also worried, but mostly just annoyed. Robin was not stupid and she knew better than put herself in such a state. It didn't help that he was just aggravated in general because these idiot humans actually thought they had a chance against the Chitauri. Enough of a chance that Stark had suggested he make the most of the night with Robin. ...At which point he'd stormed off and left them all to their own devices. At least the fools had notified the military this time. Really, did these "Avengers" take anything seriously that didn't have to do with him?

"...Stay." She slurred. Well, she said more, but that was the only part Loki understood. Well, he guessed he could do that. Escaping from drunkard bedmates was something he was pretty good at, considering his history. A whole year and a half without getting laid, that was something of a record for him, he noted. Dungeon stint aside, a week would have been a new record. Well, _that _needed to be fixed and soon.

"All right. For a while." He said and sat on the edge of her bed near her. She scooted a bit closer to him and murmured some drunken nonsense about Frigga being capable of logical thought. Loki couldn't help but laugh at that. Of course she was capable of logical thought. She was highly intelligent. He had even had a few conversations with her earlier, after they returned from Asgard. True, she was a child and was _very _childish, but Frigga was not stupid. She also really liked Robin and vowed to protect her much in the same way a lioness would guard its young. How could Loki not find that endearing?

"Love you." Robin whispered, tugging at Loki's leather overcoat sleeve.

"Come again?" He asked, frowning.

"Love... Loki." She mumbled and rolled over onto her back and stared dreamily at the ceiling.

"You lo – Oh by the Norns." Loki groaned and looked at the carpet. "You barely tolerate me. While that is more than can be said for most people – mortal or otherwise." She slurred something in reply that sounded like Frigga thought it was a good idea. He looked at the kitten who was ever so innocently trying to get comfortable on Robin's stomach. She regarded him curiously.

"_Lunch wants to be a space Viking queen."_ He heard her voice seem to whisper in his mind. He knew 'Lunch' meant Robin. Apparently there was a type of bird called a robin that Frigga's mother liked to chase and eat. How very eloquent and not revolting in the slightest. At least he knew where Stark's nickname "Little Bird" came from now.

"Was that before or after she drowned herself in her cups?" Loki inquired.

"_Before. She asked me what I thought about it and, I told her it was a good idea. A lady needs a handsome and caring mate to give her strong kittens, after all. You would do nicely for her, yes."_ Frigga replied. She had curled up in a ball and wasn't bothering to look at him like this was the most normal conversation in the world. He hated to think about it. But it made sense. The way she had been so angry about being left behind and the possibility of never seeing him again. _She is afraid I will leave her, but even more afraid of admitting she she has feelings for me. She is also almost certain I will betray her as everyone else has._ He understood and looked down at Robin was snoring slightly. He would not deny that he had been fighting his own emotions at every turn. It was a losing battle. Ever since Robin had crawled into his bed in Asgard's dungeon, it was like his heart grabbed him by the balls and threw him in her direction with all of its strength. Though, admittedly the thoughts of her had wormed their way into his mind before that. He had just refused to acknowledge it. Loki knew never to let his heart rule. He was about logic, reason and... Oh just _damn it all_. He was so DONE with fighting this. Either way, he totally was not going to comment on Frigga's suggestion about feline mating habits. But wait a moment...

"You can speak to Robin? And she can understand you?" Loki realized and stared in disbelief at the kitten. True, Robin would make one hell of a sorceress if she were an Aesir, but in a mortal body she had no magic what so ever. She was highly perceptive for a human, and could see through his lies like a thin sheet of glass, but that was extent of it. No amount of trying to teach her magic would be any good either. She didn't have the physical or likely even the mental capability of using it. So how could she speak with Frigga?

"_No, she cannot hear my voice like you can. But I have other ways of answering. Lunch is easy to train." _Frigga explained enigmatically.

"You manipulative little cretin." Loki said shaking his head. "You are unbelievable." Frigga snorted and ignored him. Loki was not sure to praise Frigga's mischievous ways or be somewhat worried about them. This little animal was nearly as good at scheming as he was. His outburst had woken Robin and she tried again to drunkenly confess her love to him.

"My dear, we are having a long talk about this in the morning, but please shut up and go to sleep. I do not wish to offend you, but I do not find drunkenness particularity attractive in a prospective mate." Loki said. "Here, I will stay with you. Better?" He continued as he took off his shoes and threw his coat over the chair by her desk. Robin inarticulately mentioned something that sounded like "no kinky shit" and Loki chuckled as he slid into bed beside her. He coaxed her over onto her side and wrapped himself around her with his body pressed against her back.

"You have no idea what you have gotten into as far as my perversion is concerned. But you will like it very much. Oh, _yes. _I have plans for you." He purred in her ear, delighted by the way she squirmed. Maybe he _had_ been intending to bed her that one day when he started driving her into a state of nearly mindless frustration for some kind of petty amusement. Not this day though, Loki had a strict policy against taking advantage of a drunk. Well, unless he hated them. Then it was just for fun, and he did it rather often. Like that time he'd changed into a woman and seduced Fandral that no one wanted to ever speak of again. He laughed quietly as he recalled the memory. No, he was not going to do that to Robin. She'd already jump to her own conclusions in the morning when she most likely would have no memory of how she'd ended up in bed with him at all. That would be bad enough. Besides, he intended to make her_ beg _for him to take her.

* * *

Robin was aware of two things when she finally woke up. One: Loki was _spooning _her. _Oh Jesus Christ what the fuck? _ Two: If she didn't get into the bathroom in about three point eight seconds, Frigga would be covered in vomit. _Shit. Shit. Shit. Ugh. _She jerked out of Loki's slack embrace and bolted into the bathroom so fast she might as well have teleported. She made it to the toilet just as the contents of her stomach decided they wanted out. She sobbed and rested her head on the cold porcelain toilet seat. It felt like something was inside her skull trying to fight its way out with a dull hacksaw. _Fucking hangovers. Fucking Rum. Fucking manipulative little shit kitten. Fuck my life. _

"I hate my life. I hate my life. I hate my -" She chanted, rocking back and forth in misery.

"Come now, I didn't even take advantage of you. Yet." Loki called from the bedroom.

"Mint tea. Yesterday." She moaned with absolutely zero sense of humor. Loki chuckled and decided to play nice. He also figured it was a bad time to make a comment about mint tea usually being reserved for pregnant women with morning sickness in Asgard. She'd probably try to murder him. And somehow, he wouldn't doubt she'd find a way to make that happen if she wanted it badly enough. Not to mention that her present mood was reminiscent of a rabid pitbull. An angry, feral, possibly starving rabid pitbull with a taste for blood.

Sometime later, Robin found herself back out on the sofa in the living room, sipping mint tea with a wastepaper basket next to her just in case. Luckily, the tea was doing an excellent job of getting rid of the nausea. It wasn't much use for the raging headache, though. Loki was sitting on the other sofa across from her absently petting Frigga.

"Shouldn't you like, be helping to stop the Chitauri from destroying this useless planet?" Robin asked. She was curled up in an almost fetal position with her knees tucked under her chin.

"Not really. The army and SHIELD told the avengers to stay out of the way unless they're needed. Coincidentally, that also means I am not really needed. Well, not at this moment at any rate. Thor is working to locate the Tesseract. Unless we can get our hands on it, there is little we actually _can _do to stop Thanos. We can slow the Chitauri down if they attack before we get it, but we will not be able to defeat them. Earth's technology and weaponry is grossly inferior to theirs." Loki explained boredly. He hated leaving this part to Thor due to the collective lack of trust for two reasons. One being that Thor is an idiot and wouldn't know how to properly handle the Tesseract if he did manage to get his hands on it. And, he hated to admit it, but the fact that he just could "not be trusted with such an important task" had really stung. Granted he should not have expected otherwise. But for some reason, it _really_ hurt that these fool mortals believed he would consider siding with the creatures that tortured him for the norns knew how long. Well, Heimdall, Odin and Sif were searching too, but _still_. Robin held her silence for a while until she finally cracked.

"So, why were you in my bed, and please tell me I didn't do anything stupid?" She finally blurted out in embarrassment and refused to look at Loki.

"Frigga told me you want to be a space Viking queen." Loki said seriously. "Yes, I can speak with her, do not give me that look." He added when Robin's faced paled while she frowned in confusion. She definitely remembered pouring her heart out to the kitten under the assumption that no one else would know what she said. It seemed that it was not such an awesome idea in hindsight.

"Did I say anything? Or do anything or..." She bit her lip and suddenly became very interested in the plush red carpeting.

"You told me that you love me." Loki replied, watching her reaction carefully. He was not disappointed. The teacup fell from her shaking hands and hit the carpet with a thud. At least it was empty. The blush that tinted her face was a dead giveaway that this was exactly what she did not want to hear. She closed her eyes and looked like she couldn't remember how to breathe. _How did this happen?_ Robin ask herself. _I hated him more than anything and now I... _But why? Why was it that she was so reluctant to let him go? She knew the answer to that. They were like kindred spirits; he understood her. All her little quirks, all the darkness in her soul – he understood that and had not pushed her away because of it. She had nothing to hide from him. He was the only person in the universe that had actually managed to get to know her – really know her. She was not ready to just let all of that go. Robin could feel completely alienated in a room full of people. It wasn't that way with Loki. Aside from Sam, Loki was the only person Robin had ever met that made her feel like she belonged – like she wasn't an oddity. Ok so maybe they were both weirdos, but was that such a bad thing? Misery loves company and all that rot...

"And how do you feel about that, exactly?" Robin asked, her mouth dry. Loki considered the question carefully for a moment before answering.

"Intrigued. Curious. Obsessive. Possibly interested in trying." He told her with that infuriating shit eating grin that only he could pull off that well. She was torn between wanting to punch him and throw herself at him in an entirely different manner. How he could use just the right tone of voice to make the simplest statement sound like the most dirty, hot sexy thing was beyond her. She assumed he just got a lot of practice. Obviously he knew what he was doing in that department. She suddenly had the distinct feeling that he hadn't really been trying before. No. He'd only been toying with her then. _Just what have I gotten into this time? _Robin thought, giving the God a sideways glance.

"And do you care about me at all, or are you just desperate to get laid?" She snapped defensively. He should have seen that coming, really. He knew she had some major insecurity issues when it came to this particular topic of conversation. Oddly enough, it didn't bother him. It would be worth the wait. It would mean something then. Loki was somewhat ashamed to admit that he could not remember the last time sex actually meant something to him other than a brief escape from hellish reality. But as far as why she was so defensive, he would have to figure that out. She may have opened up about some things, but he still didn't really know her whole story.

"If it were just about sex, I would have had my way with you by now. We both know that. There is little point in dancing around the real point of this conversation. And as much as it is out of character for me, it has absolutely _nothing _to do with sex." Loki said, desperately trying to convince her that he – by Odin's hairy left testicle – was not lying. Not a word. That train of thought effectively silenced him. His silver tongue turned to lead in his mouth and he just stared at her in disbelief. Sex wasn't his first priority in wooing a prospective mate. ...Surely it must be raining in Jotunheim.

"But I'm not immortal." Robin complained. "Obviously that's the real problem here. So this could never work, anyway. It would just be masochistic for both of us."

"That can be fixed." Loki said offhandedly. All right, so getting his hands on some of Idun's stupid golden apples would not be easy, but it also was not a priority nor impossible. That could wait until after he dealt with Thanos and the Chitauri. "That is not important right now. I meant that yes, it is about sex. A little bit. But mostly not. _Mostly _I have fallen for you like all the moronic little girls with a crush on Thor. ...The ones who throw themselves at his feet like mewling quims in heat. I am not thinking straight and that is entirely unacceptable and... I am rambling. Just ignore me, please." He hadn't even noticed the way he been fidgeting uncomfortably and sat on his hands so she wouldn't notice. Robin tried to not to laugh. Loki was worse at this than she was and that was incredibly amusing. There was no way he was lying, not this time. She mostly knew when he was lying, anyway. It was pretty easy to tell once she knew what to look for - a certain glint in his eyes, a completely blank expression, subtle hints in his body language... Though, knowing that meant knowing Loki and not many people really knew him at all. Not like she did, anyway. Maybe Thor knew him, but Robin wouldn't doubt he could make him jump through hoops for shits and giggles. Thor so desperately wanted his brother back, and to be happy, he'd do anything for that. And Loki knew it.

"Well, all right then. I'm not sleeping with you yet so don't get any ideas. Also I don't actually love you. I was drunk. Not yet anyway. It takes more than a month and a half to be able to actually love someone." Robin replied. Loki silently agreed that it took more than that to truly love someone. He was glad she felt that way as well. He cared for her, yes, but he by no means would be swearing his undying love for Robin any time soon. Which could have been a problem if she was naïve and obsessive enough to think she was mindlessly in love.

"Two things..." Loki began, wishing he could just avoid this whole part of the conversation, but knowing it was not an option. Robin had been nothing but honest with him about the darker parts of her soul, he couldn't keep hiding his. "One, I already told you once this is not my true form. Could you -"

"I don't really care what you look like. You could look like the hulk and I wouldn't give a shit as long as you actually care about me and won't stab me in the back once you've gotten what you want out of me." She answered, cutting him off.

"I am a monster." Loki said miserably. "The monster the people of Asgard tell their children about to keep them in line. I am something evil, tainted and hated." He loathed baring his soul like this. But he never took risks that were not in his favor. She had trusted him, the God of lies and deceit. He should not be so terrified to give her his trust. Yet, how could she love such a creature? Everyone in Asgard either mocked or was terrified of the frost giants. It was impossible to go anywhere without hearing some kind of hate filled comment. He never wanted to admit how much that hurt him, but he learned to mostly ignore it.

"Loki, you're misguided, yeah. But not evil. So, Asgardians don't like frost giants. And I can imagine what knowing that felt like when you found out that you are one. But hey, they probably hate the Asgardians right back. They aren't monsters just because Odin says so. Do you even know anything about them and their culture? Besides, I don't think a monster would cry over a sick kitten. Will you show me?" Robin told him, trying to be get him to be reasonable. Loki thought about refusing for a moment, but resignedly he allowed the illusion to fade. He looked at his hands in disgust. Slowly, he let his eyes meet hers, expecting to see horror or at least revulsion. But what he saw was just plain undisguised curiosity.

"I am hideous." He said, looking away from her and the wide emerald eyes that studied like him an animal in a menagerie.

"What? No you aren't! You're beautiful. Well, in a creepy blue alien way. But totally not hideous. The red eyes are a little weird, yeah, but I can get used to that." Robin said. "Do those markings mean something?" She asked, studying the intricate pale designs that covered most of his body. Well, they were mostly obscured by his clothing, but he was sure she could use her imagination.

"I – I don't know." Loki said, stunned by her reaction. _Beautiful? She thinks this is beautiful?_ He mused inwardly as she voiced another question.

"Can I touch you?" He nodded, uncertainly. He did not think it would burn her skin the way the it did the Aesir, but if it did he could always heal it. Tentatively she cupped his cheek in her hand. It was an entirely new feeling to him. Her touch felt hot, almost scalding but not unpleasant. She didn't jerk her hand away, so obviously his touch wouldn't harm her. That was good to know. She did shiver from the cold, though. There was nothing he could do to stop the thought that he'd like to feel that nearly unbearably heated touch everywhere. His breath hitched slightly just thinking about it.

"Ok, I can live with this. What's item two?" Grateful to get that madness out of the way, he shifted back to his preferred Aesir form. "Item two" was a lot easier to deal with.

"I believe I already mentioned once that I sometimes prefer a female form. Would that be what you Midgardians call a 'deal breaker'?" He inquired, telling himself that he really needed to stop picking up this drivel they call a language. Robin actually laughed at this, which surprised him. He really hoped that was a good thing, or that he hadn't misused her realm's idiotic colloquial speech.

"No, as long as I get to wear the strap-on. Believe me, if there was some way to magic myself myself a penis, I would. So you like to be a girl once in a while? So what? Besides, if you go out that way no one will recognize you. That has to count for something, right?" She finally answered. "You worry about the stupidest things, I swear. Gender really doesn't mean anything to me. I mean, you know me by now. I _suck_ at being female. Sometimes I would swear I'm a guy trapped in a girl's body." Loki finally relaxed a bit and was about to awkwardly ask what a strap-on is when Jarvis interrupted them.

"Mr. Laufeyson, Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner would like to know if you would be willing to assist them with a project of a personal nature. Your expertise in magic is needed." He frowned and looked at Robin who shrugged. Any other time, they'd probably be annoyed by the AI interrupting a conversation like this. But, everything that mattered had been said.

* * *

In the end, their curiosity got the better of them and they both let Jarvis take them to Tony's workshop in the elevator. When they got there, Bruce and Tony were leaned over the workbench with a mess of wires and metal parts littering the floor around them. They were so absorbed in their work that they didn't even notice Loki and Robin standing behind them.

"You need my expertise in magic?" Loki asked quietly, causing both men to jump in surprise. Luckily they didn't break whatever delicate thing they were working on. Upon closer inspection, Loki noticed the heap of metal scraps piled on the workbench was the inner workings of the cuffs they'd stolen from the prisons in Asgard. He felt his stomach twist seeing them. Robin noticed the shift in his previously calm demeanor and looked at him questioningly.

"Why do you need these? I am not your enemy any longer." Loki asked a little more fearfully than he would have liked. He wanted no part of having his magic sealed again in any way, well not even partially. That thought would be enough to keep his toes in line all by itself.

"You mean these will suppress your powers?" Tony asked. "Huh, I actually didn't think they would work on you." Loki relaxed a little bit after that statement but he was still wary.

"Not entirely. But I cannot teleport, create illusions or shapeshift while wearing them. ...Which arguably are my most useful abilities." Loki replied. "So you want to know what powers them I would assume. Since they are useless without an enchantment, most likely." Tony and Bruce nodded.

"It's actually for me." Bruce explained, trying to put Loki's mind at ease as the God picked through the remains of the cuffs. "To control the hulk. I've tried everything, and these restraints were the only thing I've encountered that actually worked." Well, that was better than the alternative, and made for a safer living environment. Even if the only time Bruce had transformed since Loki had come to Midgard this time was when they escaped the dungeons. Loki asked for the casing from the original cuffs and examined the runes carved into them. Robin and the two men watched with interest. It was a relatively standard enchantment, he could replicate it easily.

"What are you planning to make it into?" Loki asked. "Something less conspicuous, I would assume. A pair of matching bracelets would probably be the best idea. It would be able to balance the energy field easily. But the circuitry isn't the important part, it's the enchantment and it's ability to draw power from the wearer. You'll need to know how much power you're dealing with to make it work. When a mage uses magic, it manifests first in a current similar to electricity within the body. The enchantment draws that current into the cuffs and disperses it. When that charge is absorbed, it negates the magic before it can take form. For it to function it will have to be touching your skin. You can make into whatever shape you want, but a matching set may be necessary. I doubt a ring or pendant would be enough to suppress the hulk." He explained as he sketched the runes from the inside of the old casing on a notepad that Tony has left on the counter near them. Robin noticed for the first time that Loki wrote with his left hand. Something else they had in common. He would need to make a few alterations; prolonged exposure to such a strong enchantment that wasn't personally tailored to Bruce's needs would actually harm him in the long run.

"Wait, so people wear these in other forms in Asgard?" Tony asked. "People _want_ to suppress their space voodoo?" Loki looked at him impatiently and nodded.

"To be a mage or sorcerer is considered womanish and weak. Magic is scorned, unless it is used to aid in battle. Even then it is questionable. But it is a part of almost everyone's daily life in ways they don't even realize. The Aesir prefer their blades and brute strength. It is all rather hypocritical, really. Those that are born with a gift for it wear jewelry with similar enchantments to suppress it. ...Because magic cannot be controlled without extensive training, and it has a will of its own. To be known to have such powers is shameful." Loki explained with bitterness that was not lost on his audience. _And yet another piece of the puzzle. _Robin though, watching Loki. She could see the the understanding register on Bruce and Tony's faces as well.

"How did you get away with it then?" Bruce asked, curiously.

"No one wants to insult royalty." Loki said offhandedly, but Robin could tell that speaking about his past like this was difficult for him - and most likely for her benefit. "Though I was anything but loved by anyone other than my mother. She taught me almost everything I know about magic. Thor didn't really care, he is sentimental like that. Anyone that wanted to comment on my lack of masculinity because of my studies had to deal with Thor being angry with them. He does not particularly like it when people bully his little brother. Though, I did not have many – if any real friends aside from my mother and brother." And again, Loki felt an all consuming guilt for how he had treated Thor. He projected his hatred onto the thunderer, but he was always the first one at his side when someone meant him ill.

"There are some things I will need to work the enchantment. High quality lavender oil, crushed black tourmaline, and some of Dr. Banner's blood." Loki explained as he sketched some kind of geometrical design on the paper near the runes. "Whatever you design, make a few extra identical pieces. This may not work the first time and an item can only be enchanted once."

"Can't we just use the same enchantment as that one? We know it works." Bruce asked, frowning. Loki shook his head and asked Jarvis to show him the blueprint where the inside edge of the casing was shown. He stood and pointed a series of runes near the middle of the sequence. Jarvis highlighted them for him. Tony tried not to be worried about how easily Loki absorbed knowledge and his apparent affinity for technology that was so unlike Thor.

"This enchantment is strong enough to subdue a frost giant. That is actually most likely what the enchantment was originally made for. Well, not me. Most of them do not have powers like mine. It would bind the hulk, yes, but it will also harm you over time. The items that the Aesir wear to keep their powers bound are made specifically for them so that there are no negative side effects. Though, this isn't like normal magic. It's far more volatile and less predictable. So it may take a few tries to get the correct balance." Loki explained to Bruce, who absorbed the information easily. That must have been why they didn't just leave the cuffs on him when they threw him in the dungeon. They were probably just used a quick fix until they had other ways to restrain a dangerous magical being. He glanced at Tony who was already sketching up plans and chattering to himself. He was a like a kid with a new toy. Bruce felt his lips curl into an easy smile.

"There's nothing magical about the hulk, though." Bruce suggested. "It was a gamma radiation accident." Loki frowned, he had been certain that the hulk was more of a magical accident.

"It may not be, but it manifests in the same way as my own ability to shapeshift. I can feel it, the way the energy flows is the same. It may not be magic as I know it, but it obviously will still respond to the enchantment." Loki told Bruce.

"You mentioned before that you could shapeshift, but you know, we've never seen you do that." Bruce mused and frowned curiously. "Do you ever lose control of your powers based on emotion?"

"Yes. Mastering that is a part of mastering magic. It is never completely possible to control it without devices like those cuffs, however. For the most part, the worst I have ever done was accidentally teleport myself into the middle of what you know as the Sahara desert some five hundred years ago. I over strained myself trying to work a spell so I couldn't leave for five days. It was inconvenient to say the least. To this day I have no idea how I left Asgard by my own power without the Bifrost or the secret pathways. Heimdall had to open the Bifrost for me to return when he noticed I was missing." Loki explained, shaking his head as he recalled it. "Mostly the effects are harmless if I momentarily lose control. Though, Thor did make me so angry one time that I set his cape on fire. That was honestly rather hilarious and I sort of wish it had been intentional." Bruce and the others had no problem envisioning that scene. Tony and Robin laughed as they imagined big tough guy Thor running around in a panic with his cape blazing. It must have been quite the scene.

* * *

"I never thought I would hear 'magic' and 'normal' in the same sentence." Robin mused as she and Loki shared a pina colada back in their living room. Loki would have to wait for Tony to build whatever Bruce wanted to wear before he began figuring out an enchantment. He would do it himself if he could, but Loki was not familiar with the construction – only the magic. He shrugged at Robin's comment. In a way, he agreed. Magic wasn't 'normal' to the Aesir either. It was hated and feared, just like he was. "So, is it just me or does it seem like Bruce has a crush on Tony. I could be over analyzing, but there's something about the way he looks at him." Loki choked on a mouthful of the pina colada.

"I do believe you are right." He admitted, after giving it some thought. "And I believe I know why he wants to suppress his alter ego now."

"Why?" Robin asked curiously, taking the drink back from him. "He can control it, can't he?"

"The hulk emerges when he is angry, from what I understand. He can control his anger, but he not his body's reaction to other situations that cause an increase in the heart rate or adrenaline. Anything similar could cause a transformation." Loki told her, looking oddly sympathetic. _Other situations? Like what? _Robin wondered as she stirred the pina colada with her straw. Realization hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Oh." She said. "That _sucks._" Loki laughed animatedly and spun around on his bar stool. _He's tipsy, holy shit. _Robin noticed and shook her head. _So that's why he usually doesn't touch booze even though he's a freaking space Viking. The guy is the textbook example of a lightweight._ Then, an idea sprung into her head and she grinned like an idiot.

"Loki, once this Chitauri business is over, I need your help causing a little controlled chaos." She demanded.

"I am always willing to cause chaos." Loki replied and leaned forward against the counter with a smirk on his face. "You could say that it is a specialty of mine. Especially the completely inappropriate sexual kind, since I think I know where this going if it has anything to do with Stark and Banner."

"You know it." She agreed cheekily.


	15. Chaos

**Notes:** It's actually kind of a scary thought to imagine how the world would react if the internet was shut down. But it might actually be something like this, haha.

* * *

**Chapter 15: Chaos**

* * *

Tony never cared for cheesy Sci-fi movies, novels or what have you. But even he had to admit, H.G. Wells may as well have been some kind of biblical prophet. One minute, everything had been fine. The military was preparing for the Invasion, SHIELD was perfecting the weapons based on Hydra technology and the Avengers were talking strategy. True, Tony wasn't keen on the whole hydra weapon thing, but even he wasn't going to argue knowing what they were up against. The next thing they knew, the shit hit the fan. Explosively. It was total chaos. Loki would be proud. Maybe the Chitauri had learned a few tricks from him. The first thing to go was the internet at around twelve in the afternoon on the day following the Avengers' return from Asgard. It was a massive, world-wide failure. Tony, along with the rest of the top techies in the world, couldn't get it going again. Especially not when pretty much every other mode of digital communication failed a few hours later. Tony had a full-on panic attack when Jarvis finally shut down and couldn't be restored. The government and the UN were in disarray, but the military got their shit together quickly enough. Bruce had the sense to run up to Robin and Loki's floor and ask the trickster if he had any idea what was happening.

Loki didn't know, he couldn't sense anything. He tried to use some form of magic to see if he could feel any disturbance. It didn't end well, and the God of mischief was nursing a panic attack of his own when he found out that he could only use a fraction of his power. Robin responded by shoving a frozen margarita down his throat. It was a pretty good tactic; he was too tipsy to care anymore. He just laid on the sofa smiling while he watched Frigga play with her toy mice. Then the power failed around seven pm that night. Robin had been looking out the window and gasped when all the city lights blinked out. Stark Tower lost power for a moment too before the Arc Reactor took over. It was the same for the Stark Industries corporate building visible in the distance. It, and a few other larger places that had generators, came back to life. But everything else was shrouded in the semi-darkness of sunset. Loki and Robin could hear Tony swearing like a drunken sailor three flights down while they ran up the stairs to his penthouse. Without Jarvis the elevators weren't operational, and hell if Robin was getting in one with the city in an epic blackout. It'd be just her luck to get stuck in there.

"What the fuck is going on?" Robin wheezed, as she finally reached the top floor with Loki in tow. Tony and Steve were there arguing about some nonsense technobabble that Steve probably didn't even understand. They fell silent when they saw her. If anything, Tony's penthouse had the atmosphere of a funeral parlor in that moment.

"We don't know. Internet's shot, all communications are down. There's riots breaking out everywhere from what Clint told us, and now someone's pulled the plug on the power grid too. I hate to say it, but judging by everything else being a global issue, I kind of doubt this is just New York." Tony said, not a touch of his usual humor in his voice. "I can't use any of the Iron Man suits like this. I can use the Arc Reactor to Power them, but without some way to be online with Jarvis – they won't function." Tony paced restlessly and wondered if they should get the hell out of the tower while they still could. If the arc reactor somehow failed, they wouldn't be able to get past the security to escape.

"I suppose the fact that Thor and others haven't found the Tesseract yet is like the icing on this epic shitcake." Tony groaned. "We need to leave the tower. Before we get trapped in here. Steve, get Bruce and meet us in the parking garage." Loki didn't even bother telling Robin to stay put, she'd be in no less danger if she was there alone and trapped. At least at his side, he could protect her to the best of his ability. They only stopped on their floor so Robin could change into a pair of jeans and one of her worn-out Black Sabbath t-shirts, instead of the beige business suit she was wearing. A few moments later, Stark tower was on full lock down and they were on their way to the Stark Industries corporate building.

Tony, Steve and Bruce rode in Tony's Ferrari while Robin followed in her Grand Am with Loki and Frigga. The bow and arrows Robin had stolen from the guard in Asgard's dungeons were lying on the back seat. It was a nightmare. People ran through the streets screaming about the end of the world vandalizing everything in sight. Loki used what little of his power he could access to turn into a woman and dressed herself in some of Robin's clothes in hopes of making it to their destination in one piece. Somehow, the grey blazer and matching skirt did not suit her at all. The boots with three inch stiletto heels totally did, however. It was no surprise that many of the people rioting were blaming Loki. They accused Loki of being behind it, of earning their trust only to lead what would surely be another invasion against them. ...Even though there wasn't any signs of anything extraterrestrial just yet. Luckily no one could really see into the car that well. Even as a woman, Loki still looked like Loki – albeit with softer facial features, a body that a Goddess would envy, and long, luscious wavy ebony hair. Robin may or may not have been slightly jealous of her "glorious bosom" as Tony has had so eloquently put it before they left.

"I do not know if I should praise Thanos for this." Loki comment as they drove. Even his voice was softer. Robin would have had a hard time believing this woman was really Loki if she hadn't seen him transform. Though, to his credit, Loki really did seem more comfortable in a female form. "Really, it is absolutely inspired how much chaos such a simple thing as disabling electricity and the internet has wrought. It is a good tactic. The mortals are in disarray, fighting amongst themselves. It will make it much easier for the Chitauri. Which is not exactly in our favor."

"Yeah, Tony said SHIELD and the military still have their crap together, so that's something. But the military won't be much use while they're preoccupied trying to stop people from panicking." Robin agreed, trying to keep up with Tony and avoid the rioters that attempted to block her car as she drove. Loki put in a CD when she couldn't get the radio to turn on. She wasn't fond of the obnoxious vintage rock that Robin liked, but it drowned out some of the fanatical shouting around them. As an employee of Stark Industries, Robin had a special license plate and decals on the back of her car now. Tony was as much as a target as Loki in this mess, so the crowd went for them like moths to a flame. After all, where was Iron Man now, huh? Robin was very glad for her ability to keep her composure in a crisis when they finally reached the Stark Industries building after what seemed like hours.

Steve distracted the crowd, trying to calm them while Tony, Robin, Bruce and Loki made a break for it. Loki stuffed Frigga in her shirt between her breasts as she ran into the building after Tony. Once they were inside, they all took a moment to breathe. Steve followed shortly after looking angrier than ever and punched a hole straight through the wall. He grunted something to Loki about it not being her fault and not to let the rioters get to her. Loki didn't take it personally, not this time. Tony didn't even comment about the abused wall.

"So, why are we here, exactly?" Loki asked, breaking the silence. Tony blinked in confusion for a moment, not used to the sound of Loki's voice as a woman. He shook his head and ran his fingers through his dark brown hair that was already a total mess. He smiled and made one of his usual snarky comments about how jealous he was of Frigga's position. …And how much better his face would look buried in Loki's bosom. Steve rolled his eyes, Robin and Bruce both gave him a murderous glare.

"One of my older suits is kept here, I _might _be able to do a few overrides and use it without Jarvis. It won't have any charge, though. I'm going to have to dick around with the arc reactor that's powering the building to get it running." Tony explained as he led them to the lowest floor and through several levels of security clearance. He had to admit, it was scary seeing no one in the building. To Tony, that was more terrifying than the angry mob outside that was proceeding to try and break their way in through the windows with various debris from the street. They wouldn't be able to, of course – maybe if they had a wrecking ball. But it was still unsettling. Tony could never recall being in total silence anywhere in any place that had do to with Stark Industries. Well, unless someone farted during a board meeting.

"I thought that powered the suits?" Bruce said, pointing at the miniaturized arc reactor in Tony's chest. Tony just shook his head and gave Bruce a look that quite plainly said 'we'll talk about it later'.

"There's also another reason we're here." Tony said as he began punching a code into a keypad beside a reinforced steel door that obviously led to a vault of some kind. The other three shared a few confused glances when Tony didn't elaborate and just opened the door. Inside was the Iron Man Mark III and... Loki's scepter resting on a pedestal under a glass case. Loki gasped and ran over to it. Yes, it was exactly the same. It wasn't as good having her magic, but it was better than nothing. She wasn't sure if she could use it to control the minds of some of the Chitauri or not, but it was worth a try. ...Considering she couldn't summon Gungnir or the casket of ancient winters from where she'd stored them without her power. Well, her magic wasn't _gone_, she just couldn't reach it. If anything, it felt like some kind of interference.

"You can have that back if you swear on Odin's balls you won't use it against us." Tony said, pointing at the glass case. "I had it moved from my place in Malibu a week ago, I was going to give it back to you eventually if you behaved." Loki snorted and pressed the release that opened the case. Uncertainly, she lifted it from the pedestal and examined the staff more closely. Yes, she could wield this without magic.

"It would be my pleasure to stab Thanos in the face with it for you, Stark." Loki drawled and tested the blade. It was as sharp as ever and drew blood from the tip of her index finger. Delicately, she licked the blood from her fingertip but otherwise ignored it. _You did that on purpose... _Robin realized, seeing the smoldering glare she gave her as she did it. _Well, that was way sexier than it should be right now considering there's a rabid mob outside. _Robin chastised herself and watched the two men working. Tony completely ignored Loki as he and Bruce rigged a makeshift system to charge the suit from the arc reactor. It was fairly easy to get it going and hook it into the main power grid.

Steve looked kind of lost as he waited behind Robin in the doorway to the vault. She knew how he felt: useless. He couldn't do a damn thing to calm a frenzied mob, nor did he know enough modern day tech to help Tony and Bruce. Instead, he just kind of floated unnoticed in the corner. Just like Robin who was now tightening her bowstring for something to do to keep from going nuts. Even she felt out of place here. A girl from rural New Jersey stuck out like a sore thumb surrounded by all this tech. Even the décor was a bit much for her, all clean edges and hard angles. It was nothing like the rustic, woodsy things she was used to seeing. Though, she had to admit, she was getting used to it quickly.

"All right we're good to go!" Tony announced, catching the others' attention. They watched mutely as Bruce helped Tony get into the suit as it was next to impossible to do it himself without the robots to assemble it. "Bit of an antique, but it'll do." The genius said approvingly as he calibrated the computer system. It was annoying without Jarvis, but not impossible.

"What next, then?" Loki asked as the clothes she had borrowed from Robin shimmered and transformed into a different outfit. She was now clad in a skin-tight emerald green leather dress with a lynx fur drape and thigh high black leather boots, complete with a matching obnoxious gold horned headpiece. Frigga mewled approvingly. Robin rolled her eyes at the way Steve gaped and dropped the wrench he was holding on Bruce's foot. Poor Steve. He had been kind of freaked out by Loki taking that form as it was, without her looking like a dominatrix Goddess of sex and ass-kicking.

"Do you _have _to look like that?" Steve asked incredulously. "How is that in any way practical in a fight?" Bruce and Tony tried not to laugh, Robin wasn't quite as successful. Steve's childlike aversion of anything mildly sexual never ceased to amuse her.

"I don't have the power to change back until I figure out what the Chitauri have done to cause the interference." She explained dully. "Besides, why not? I am positively ravishing, unlike you. It must be jealousy that bothers you so much." This time, Bruce and Tony did laugh. Robin muttered something mutinously and walked out of the vault, followed by a very pissed off Steve. Leave it to Loki to try to get under her skin at a time like this. What a pain in the ass. What was it she saw in him, or her, again anyway?

"Anyways as for what's next? Fuck if I know. I'm going to fly up to the Helicarrier and see if Fury's got any updates – it's above Grand Central. The rest of you, stay here in the lobby until I get back. Unless, obviously, if all hell breaks loose. This place isn't like the tower. You'll still be able to get out if the arc reactor fails, but they can't get in." Tony explained as they followed him back up to the entry level. When Tony left, Robin started to worry. Steve might the be the one with the natural leadership qualities, but Tony was the glue that held them all together. Somehow, him being around made everything feel like it was going to be just peachy. But, sitting in the abandoned lobby with Loki, Bruce and Steve felt wrong. It felt like they were vulnerable. Like sitting ducks as the rioters pounded on the walls around them. Robin couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched.

"Does something feel wrong here? Like we aren't alone?" Robin piped up, voicing her fears. Bruce shook his head and shrugged.

"Nothing seems amiss. Maybe it's the riot outside that's getting to you." Steve said picking at a spot where the paint had chipped off his glorified Frisbee. He was antsy and wanted out, Robin could tell. Sitting and waiting wasn't Steve's forte.

It was true, even though it was muffled, they could still hear the angry shouts. Loki looked at her curiously. She knew Robin was more sensitive to her surroundings than most mortals. Nothing about that was uncommon. Just like some Aesir were gifted with the natural affinity for magic, so were many Midgardians. They, however, could only sense that power never use it. The more he watched Robin after seeing her aura that day in the woods, the more he noticed these little quirks in her. She could tell when Loki was lying, though arguably that could be because she knew him so well. She'd also told Tony off for a multitude of lewd comments that he'd never physically said, and she'd been aware that Frigga was capable of higher thought. She'd also noticed the way she constantly surveyed her surroundings in the throne room in Asgard. Robin couldn't see anything, but she could feel the presence of the spirits of the Einherjar that had fallen in Malekith's attack – whether she understood it or not. _But maybe she does understand it, _Loki thought, recalling that she had known her stepfather's spirit was still in the woods where she had killed him. She found herself wondering then what had drawn Robin to High Point the day she arrived in Midgard. An odd reoccurring thought that she should visit there that day, perhaps? Robin certainly possessed a very powerful sense of intuition.

"What does it feel like?" Loki asked, watching her carefully. "Like someone nearby, or something far away?" Bruce raised an eyebrow and Robin frowned.

"Nearby, I think." Robin replied, biting her lip. "I don't think we're alone. It's probably just nerves. Ignore me."

"Hm?" Loki mumbled and looked up at the balcony above. She felt the same presence. They were not alone, but she could not pinpoint a location or identify what was there. It might not even be hostile. There was nothing for it but to wait. There was no point in making the others panic about an unseen foe. Robin noticed the curiosity in Loki's somewhat guarded expression and wondered what was going through her head now.

"Is there something here?" Robin asked quietly so that only Loki could hear while Steve and Bruce were absorbed in their own conversation.

"Yes." Loki said simply. "But I know not what, or where. Stay close to me."

* * *

Usually taking to the skies in the Iron Man suit was liberating and exhilarating. Not tonight. Tony's stomach turned as he surveyed the city below in a state of chaos. It reminded him of the occupy Wall Street movement, but five times more violent and senseless. There were bodies of law enforcement officers and national guard soldiers in the streets being trampled but the frenzied rioters. Grand Central station was on fire and Tony knew hundreds of people were trapped in the subways. It couldn't get much worse. Turning his back on the city, he gained altitude until he caught sight of the Iliad. It had its cloaking device turned on, but Tony could see the slight shimmer in the suit's HUD. Unfortunately, he had no way to call himself in, so he had to just fly up there and hope no one shot him.

He landed quietly on the deck and took a look around. It was deserted. That couldn't be good. Well, not entirely deserted, as none other than Natasha and Clint were running in his direction with their guns blazing. Tony put his hands in the air as a sign of surrender and they immediately lowered their weapons at the sight of him. They were both dressed in full riot gear and looked incredibly overstressed.

"What the fuck took you so long?" Clint snapped, sliding his handgun back into his hip holster. He had both his bow and an M16 slung over his shoulder. Natasha was similarly armed, but with one of the newly modified hydra weapons beside her standard assault rifle and more handguns than Tony could count. He quickly explained the situation down below and they took him to Fury.

"Any updates, Pop-eye?" Tony asked as he strode into the bridge and flipped back the face plate of his suit. Fury's one good eye narrowed in annoyance. Like Clint and Natasha, he was armed to the teeth. As were Coulson and Hill who were bent over a monitor nearby trying futilely to get the helicarrier's communications back online.

"Not since we lost the radio and cell towers." Fury replied angrily. "We can't even get the PA system running. As much as you make me want to kill you, Stark, at least we have the arc reactor powering the helicarrier or this could have gone critical."

"You still might want to put her in the ocean." Tony said seriously. "The arc reactor at the company building was running at less than half its usual energy levels, and the one at the tower literally shut itself down for a few seconds when everything went black. Considering neither of those buildings are connected to any of the power grids, it's a pretty good reason to worry." He wasn't sure what they were dealing with, but a helicarrier full of dead agents after it crashed into central park and leveled ten blocks wasn't going to be much help. Better safe than sorry, even if that meant having to get there in a quinjet instead. Fury made no argument and gave the orders to drop the helicarrier in the Hudson bay. And not a moment too soon, as the power dropped by nearly eighty percent halfway through the descent. They only just managed to land safely. Looking out the window on the bridge, Tony could see the lights in Stark Tower and the company building flicker out. He bit his tongue to keep from swearing while he hoped Bruce and the others stayed put. Nervously, he used the suit's computer to run a scan on the miniaturized arc reactor in his chest. It seemed fine and fully charged for the time being. Most likely it being built with a unique element kept it from being interfered with. He didn't know how long that would last, but he desperately hoped it did.

"Where is Loki?" Fury asked suddenly. "If he's behind this in any way - "

"He's at Stark Industries with Steve and Bruce." Tony told Fury and glared at him. "He also hasn't got anything to do with this. Robin had to shove a margarita down his throat and get him half-drunk to keep him from having a panic attack and crying like pussy earlier. Whatever's fucking with our communications is blocking his space voodoo. The only thing he had enough power to do was turn himself into a girl so the rioters wouldn't recognize him and tear his limbs off or something." Fury swore and shook his head.

"Thor?"

"Don't know. He and his Asgard buddies are still trying to locate the Tesseract as far as we know." Tony told Fury just as total blackness engulfed them. "Well shit." In the dark, Tony could hear Fury barking orders for everyone to get on deck. Stumbling over computer equipment as they went, Tony and Fury followed the crowd of startled SHIELD agents outside. At least it wasn't pitch black on the helicarrier deck. ...Even if most of the light came from the raging fires in the city nearby.

"So, I guess this means you don't have any recent intel, either?" Tony asked Fury as the Agents scrambled to make sure the quinjets were still operational.

"I was hoping you did." The director complained. "Barton, Romanov – report!"

"Sir." Clint and Natasha said in unison, already at Fury's side.

"Get in a quinjet and follow Stark. Stay with the Avengers and be ready to take action if this gets worse. Coulson and Hill will deal with the mobs." Fury ordered.

"Actually, I'll just ride with you." Tony said as they ran to the nearest quinjet. "This is an older model, I couldn't get the newer ones online and this one isn't exactly energy efficient."

"Whatever." Natasha said as she and Clint climbed into the cockpit. "Is it safe to fly this thing?" She called to one of the tech guys that had scrambled to get out of her way.

"Yes, Ma'am. But you won't have any communications and you'll have to use the manual controls." He answered and got out of the way when Clint fired up the engine.

"I'll fly, you two sit down and hold on. This could be rough." Clint said and took the controls. Natasha argued, but he ignored her. It was definitely a rough ride. Tony nearly kissed the ground when Clint landed on the roof of Stark Industries.

* * *

"What was that?" Steve asked, curiously as the indistinguishable sound of footsteps nearby reached his ears. Loki was the first one on her feet with her scepter held out in front of her like a spear. Robin reacted next, an arrow already nocked in her bow before she was on her feet behind Loki. Bruce wrapped his hand around Tony's pistol that was in his pocket and Steve gripped his shield tightly. They waited with bated breath as the footsteps grew closer as they descended the stairwell to their right. Loki and Robin barely managed to hesitate when they saw who it was that was approaching them.

"Wait! It's me!" Pepper Potts cried in surprise just as the power failed and the room was shrouded in semi darkness. But it wasn't only pepper. They all heard her shriek and drop the brief case she was carrying as Loki shoved her aside and buried the business end of the scepter into a shimmer in the air behind her. Though, no one really had been able to see what was going on. Pepper got to her feet awkwardly and brushed dirt from the floor tiles off her blazer sleeve.

"This is not good." Loki breathed, wiping Chitauri blood off of her blade with disgust. Robin was about to ask what happened when Pepper pulled a flashlight out of her bag and illuminated where Loki was kneeling over a dead Chitauri. Like Robin, Pepper did not panic in a crisis. Well, she did but it took some time for it to set in properly.

"What the - There was no one else here. I was just up in the office getting files together for a press conference tomorrow." She said, her voice shaking. Robin had to admit, she felt a little bad for Pepper. Even if she was just Tony's CEO and not his girlfriend anymore, she still managed to get sucked into his messes. And that press conference was totally canceled by now. Pepper was one hell of a workaholic. "How did it get here!? What is going on? Not another invasion, please tell me it's not!" She cried looking to Steve and Bruce with wide eyes.

"It's another invasion." Steve said flatly. "But we really have no idea what's going on or how this one just showed up out of thin air.

"The Tesseract. That's why. Now I understand." Loki mused, a look of grudging understanding on her face. "It's here somewhere nearby. The Chitauri used it to cause the various technology failures. It's also why I cannot use my magic. I forgot about that. I only had minimal access to my powers if I was close enough to it, and not touching it. That was why it doesn't require magic for me to wield the scepter. We have to get our hands on the Tesseract. They don't need a large portal when they can just use it to appear wherever they please. ...And cloak themselves with some kind of invisibility device." She turned the scepter over in her hands with a look of revulsion. She hated this thing, really. But it was the only weapon she would be able to wield unless the Tesseract was moved or she took control of it. Well, that was just wonderful. Hopefully Thor would realize soon that it was in Midgard and probably had been the entire time. Idiots.

"How far away does it need to be for the interference to stop?" Bruce asked, thankfully keeping his head.

"About a five mile radius." Loki replied. She tested her magic and a small flame appeared in her palm. With some concentration, she shifted back into her male form and the usual Asgardian leathers. "I can do this much, so it must be nearby. However, it must have moved. It would have had to be directly above us to interfere so much earlier."

"Above us? But it wouldn't have been in Stark Tower and there's nothing above us." Pepper replied and sat on the floor near Robin. She looked exhausted. Comprehension dawned on Bruce and Steve's faces simultaneously and Bruce swore animatedly. Pepper and Loki frowned at the doctor's unusual outburst, but said nothing.

"What's wrong?" Robin asked nervously.

"The SHIELD helicarrier. It was stationed above us earlier. It would make sense that Tesseract would have moved if it's there. They probably had to land it in the bay in case of losing power. It's powered by an arc reactor, so it makes sense in theory." Bruce explained. "But why would they have it?"

"I wouldn't put it past them to have had it all this time." Steve said, shaking his head. "I know SHIELD is just trying to protect us, but they do it in all the wrong ways sometimes."

"Fury and his God complex." Bruce said sadly and shook his head. "This is not good."


	16. Vindication

**Notes:** Robin is a BAMF. Also, why does almost everyone hate/bash on Fury in their fics? :c

**Warning:** Mentions of rape, nothing graphic.

* * *

**Chapter 16: Vindication**

* * *

"SHIELD has the Tesseract." Were the first words out of Steve's mouth the instant Tony, in his Iron Man suit, reached the bottom of the stairs in the Stark Industries lobby with Clint and Natasha at his heels. Both spies stared angrily at Steve in surprise at the accusation. Natasha just sort of raised her eyebrows, Clint started swearing and denying it vehemently. Loki managed to get them to shut up while he explained that it was the force interfering with his power, so it must be on the helicarrier. Natasha was the first to speak, silencing Clint by pressing her index finger to his lips. He fell silent like a good little pet and glared at Loki. The God was fucking with them, he knew it. Loki had to give Natasha some credit, it took a lot to train a man to behave so well.

"It may not be in SHIELD's possession, but it is most likely there." Bruce said, deciding to trust Loki. Robin gave him a thankful glance. "Look at what the Chitauri did in Asgard – for all we know Fury could be compromised. And the Chitauri can just start popping out of thin air when they feel like it." As if to prove this statement, an enormous explosion rocked the ground, followed by mindless screaming outside. Pepper flinched and moved behind Tony just as the front wall of the lobby was blown to bits.

"Loki, get ahold of Tessie. I don't give a shit how. And so help me God, if you stab us in the back I will make you regret the day you were born." Tony snapped, shouting orders quickly while the rioters dispersed in horror. Many of them fell to the ground dead as a group of at least fifty Chitauri materialized out of thin air and fired their weapons in their directions. "Peps, get into the vault and stay there. You should be safe down there. Robin, I don't fucking know – Go with Reindeer Games. The rest of you – let's kick some ass." He shouted, dropping his faceplate and firing the repulsors straight into the center of the Chitauri's formation. Three of them dropped dead, and the others were upon them like a whirlwind. Robin hardly knew what in fuck's sake was going on when Loki grabbed her by the shoulder, and the familiar sensation of teleportation assaulted her senses.

Robin fell face first toward the deck of what looked like an aircraft carrier, but Loki caught her before she met the pavement. Loki leaned on her shoulder for a moment as he caught his breath. It took a lot out of him to force his way through the Tesseract's inference. Cautiously, he looked around, but the helicarrier deck seemed to be deserted. Even in the middle of the Hudson bay, they could still hear the screams and the explosions. Loki gritted his teeth angrily. The Chitauri were playing with them. This was just a fun little game of cat and mouse meant to wear down the defenses before the true strike. They needed to fine the Tesseract, and fast.

"Is it here?" Robin asked in a hushed whisper as she pulled an arrow from her quiver. Absently, Loki nodded affirmatively as he handed her one of his daggers, in case she wound up fighting in close quarters and he couldn't defend her. She slipped it into her boot. "Right, let's get this over with." Keeping to the shadows, they slunk around the deck until the sound of raised voices met their ears. Quickly, they ducked behind a pile of cargo crates and listened.

"Shit." Loki breathed and bit his lip.

"Where is the cube?" Came a harsh reptilian voice. "Tell me and I will spare you."

"Like hell I'll tell you, motherfucker." This was Director fury's voice. So SHIELD had it after all. But why? Loki hissed a stream of curses under his breath as Fury kept talking. "Even if I did know where it was, I'd never tell. Eat shit!" Fury swore and whipped a handgun from his sleeve and fired several shots right into the Chitauri in front of him. The Other. How Loki hated him. He had been by far the worst to endure when he felt like personally torturing Loki in their dungeons. How he had longed to rip his head from his body with his bare hands. But alas, he was a bullet riddled corpse lying in a puddle of blood. Loki was torn between wanting to murder Fury for stealing the one kill he cared about aside from Thanos, and jumping in to save Fury's ass. Eventually, his overall hatred of the Chitauri won over. Besides, he needed Fury alive to get the Tesseract out of his greedy hands.

"Stay here!" He whispered to Robin and joined the fray. Taking stock of the situation, Loki saw twelve Chitauri. Four of them died from blasts from the scepter before they knew what hit them. Fury snapped the neck of another while a sixth, about to impale him from behind, was thrown sprawling by a blast from Loki's scepter. Confused, Fury looked behind him, his expression turning sour as he saw Loki drive the business end of the scepter through a Chitauri's skull and simultaneously land a kick in another one's gut. The one that got kicked fell to the ground with an arrow sticking out of its eye socket. Fury's first thought was Barton, until he saw Robin around the corner with another arrow ready. He grunted and shot the last Chitauri standing full of holes after it ripped off his eye patch in an attempt to backhand him.

"You better be on our side this time." Fury said simply and reloaded his gun. Disgustedly, he picked his eye patch up off the ground and dusted it off before putting it back on. Loki ignored him and kicked The Other's side. He grunted weakly and tried to make a grab for Loki who caught he hand and forced him to the ground. Still alive. Wonderful.

"Oh, how I have waited for this." The god purred. "For what you did to me in those dungeons. I wish I had time to draw this out, seeing as death is welcomed by your people. But alas, I do not have that luxury." He drawled in anger. Fury watched curiously but kept his mouth shut.

"I suppose I will see you in Hel one day. Do give my daughter my love, won't you? Hm?" Loki crooned and ended The other's life not with the scepter but his dagger. He plunged it savagely into The Other's chest repeatedly until he was covered in blood and out of breath. When he was done, he crudely hacked his head from his body and drop-kicked it into the ocean. Panting and oddly aroused, he turned back to Fury who looked at him with raised eyebrows but seemed unphased by the brutality. Loki motioned for Robin to come forward. She made to obey, but a clammy reptilian hand covered her mouth and she was dragged backward squirming for all she was worth.

"Right, so I'm not going to ask about that. It seems a little personal." Fury said, indicating the headless Chitauri. Loki grinned in a predatory way and licked the blood on his dagger. "Why are you here when there's plenty of ass to kick over there?" He added, ignoring the display and pointing to the city which was now partially on fire.

"I could ask you the same thing, Director." Loki said. "The Tesseract is here, I can sense her presence."

"Impossible." Fury said and shook his head. "I would know." Loki grabbed Fury by the collar of his leather coat and threw him against the nearest wall, pinning him there. He observed him for a moment, letting the trickle of his magic that he could control roam Fury's mind. Silently he released him.

"I apologize for that, but I needed to be certain you that you are not under their control. Nor do you know anything. But the Tesseract _is _here." Loki explained. "Robin! We need to find – " He started to say and whipped around, but there was no one there. Immediately he panicked, and ran in the direction of where he'd left her with Fury close behind. But they saw nothing.

"She has to be somewhere nearby, I saw her shoot a couple of those bastards." Fury said calmly. Eventually they split up to start their search. At least Loki could trust Fury to look for her. He had no way of getting off the Helicarrier as he had sent his agents to attempt to get the riots under control. Loki also had yet to give him a reason to punish her for his actions. Hopefully

* * *

"Enemies can smell fear like a caged animal." Natasha explained to Robin. It was a few days after the incident in the alleyway that got her the nickname 'Robin Hood', and occasionally 'Katniss'. They sat together about two feet apart on the floor of the gym in Stark Tower, both of them soaked with sweat from sparring. "It's okay to be afraid, but don't ever let them see it."

"That makes sense." Robin said, shrugging as she pulled uncomfortably at her sweat soaked Led Zeppelin t-shirt.

"One other thing – attack first and think later. If your life is in danger, don't waste precious time wondering about whether it's right or wrong to kill someone. Just do it. If it comes between you, and someone who means you harm, you'd better fight back no matter what the risk. You came into this world kicking and screaming, covered in someone else's blood. That had better be the way you leave it. _Never _give up without a fight." Natasha told her seriously, their eyes meeting in an understanding gaze. "Something tells me aren't afraid to kill someone if you have to."

"I'm not, no. but is it really right to do that? To just kill someone? What if they don't deserve it?" Robin asked, frowning. She had killed before, yes. But he had it coming miles away. She wasn't sure she could kill ahuman being without knowing that they were asking for it. Natasha regarded her in silence for a moment before speaking.

"You're alone in a hotel room at night. Asleep. Some punk from the housekeeping staff breaks in to steal your stuff. But he sees you laying there in nothing but a nightshirt, and he's stoned out of his mind. He just can't help himself. He covers your mouth, holds you down and tries to rape you. Are you going to let him succeed, or are going to grab the dagger under the pillow and shove it in his throat while he's busy with his zipper? Think about it, hard. Does that man deserve to die? Maybe not. But what if he kills you when he's done with you to hide his crime? Then throws your body in the dumpster behind the hotel like you're nothing but garbage? You won't know. But it isn't worth the risk. Sometimes, it's necessary." Natasha said in an even tone, but Robin noticed the slight grimace in her face as she spoke. This was something personal for her, she had been in that exact situation, or one like it. Robin could tell.

"What if I can't fight him? What if he's too strong?" Robin asked, frowning and looking away. Natasha grabbed her chin and forced her to meet her eyes.

"Submit. And stab him when he's done. For at least a moment he'll be pretty much incapacitated after he has his climax." Natasha told her, still holding her gaze. "Rape sucks. It hurts physically and emotionally, and it's really hard to overcome that fear once you've been there. But you can. You're still alive and you can pick up the pieces later. That's what matters. Sometimes you have to give in to win a fight – sometimes you've got to claw their eyeballs out and hope for the best. What matters is your judgment. If you are threatened, shoot first and ask questions later. That's the bottom line." The spy showed no emotion during this little monologue, but Robin could sense the bitterness in the words. Yes, Natasha had been raped.

"I'll remember that." Robin said hoarsely. Natasha smiled sweetly and patted her head like a dog.

"Make sure that you do."

* * *

As Robin was dragged, she immediately stopped struggling and let her body go limp. Struggling was pointless. They were probably strong enough to hold Loki down. Her captors, two of the Chitauri, pulled her to her feet and gagged her to keep her from calling for help. Angrily, she bit down on the filthy wad of fabric in her mouth and allowed herself to be led inside the helicarrier. _Show them no fear. Stab first, ask questions later. _She repeated to herself to keep calm as they reached the bridge and descended to lower deck on a lift. Inside the room they dragged her to were three more Chitauri… And a glowing blue cube on a stand behind them. _The Tesseract_, Robin realized and stared at it. She could recognize it from reading over some of the files Tony had on it. She probably wasn't _supposed_ to, but she had unrestricted access to Jarvis. It felt strange, like it was calling to her, longing for her touch. It felt… Like a living being. The Chitauri barked greetings to each other in a guttural language she couldn't understand. Robin ignored them while she formulated a plan to get the Tesseract.

"This mortal belongs to the traitor princeling. We thought the mad Titan would like it as a souvenir." One of the Chitauri said in English which really just irritated robin more than it scared her. And there – that was the moment. Both Chitauri loosened their grips on her arms slightly as they laughed at the image of what their lord would do to this disgusting creature. Robin's reaction was immediate and highly effective. She jerked her arms out of their slackened grasp and tore Loki's dagger out of her boot where she'd hidden it. She kicked the Chitauri on the right and jammed the dagger straight into the eye socket of the one on the left. Once freed, Natasha's training took over and she was like a whirlwind full of shrapnel.

The second fell, grabbing uselessly at his severed windpipe and the third from a series of viscous jabs to the chest. The fourth grabbed Robin by her waist length copper colored hair that was held back in a long braid and yanked. But she sliced him blindly across the face and succeeded in spinning around and slitting his throat as well. The last on managed to throw Robin to ground and knock the dagger out of her hand, but she was far faster than him. She landed a heavy kick to his chest as he went for her with a knife of his own and he backed away winded. Realizing the fight was lost, he reached for the Tesseract. Robin was still faster. Snatching the dagger from the floor she screamed like an animal and stabbed him in the back until hot blood saturated her clothes and he stopped moving. Gasping for breath, she wiped the soiled dagger clean on the nearest Chitauri's clothes and grabbed the Tesseract. That… had been a bad idea.

Robin screamed in a mixture of pain and shock as her body convulsed, absorbing some kind of power from the Tesseract. At first, it was just pain, then, total emptiness She was floating, but could see, hear and feel nothing but an odd pulsing blue light. Suddenly a vaguely female was voice speaking to her. This voice held infinite knowledge and power. All the secrets of the universe. The meaning of life and death. _Everything. _

_What do you desire of me? _robin felt rather than heard it speak.

_Destroy the Chitauri, all of them. And the one who leads them, Thanos, end him as well. _Robin felt something in herself reply as if the Tesseract _knew _what she wanted without her saying. And in that moment, Robin knew she was no longer just a murderer, but guilty of genocide as well if it worked. It didn't matter. Shoot first, ask questions later. These creatures had already attacked her world once, and now they were back in full force. There was no room for unnecessary risks. But Robin hadn't given the command, it was pulled out of her somehow – as if it knew her wish.

_So it shall be done. _Came the reply. Robin realized she had to escape the Tesseract's grasp. It was too much for her mind to handle. She'd heard that enlightenment was a dangerous thing, she just didn't know _how_ dangerous_. _But she couldn't escape. There was nothing, like her body wasn't real and nothing existed but darkness, a pulsing blue light and that voice that just kept pouring out the secrets of the universe. It made sense in that moment. Everything fit into place. Robin understood the purpose of existence, the meaning of life – _everything._ But she had to get away! She had to get the Tesseract to Loki and Fury!

* * *

The situation in the city was a nightmare made real. For every Chitauri they killed, ten more popped into existence in a silent blast of blue light. Natasha and Clint were getting worn down fast, without having any real superpowers. Even the hulk was starting to get a little battered as he flung Chitauri around like playthings. Tony was losing power in the suit, which was not good. Angrily he shot the last volley of repulsor blasts into a group of Chitauri. Having no choice but to go hand to hand, he backed up to find himself standing at Clint and Natasha's backs. Steve had so far held his own, but his shield landed out of reach near Tony, and he too wound up corned with the other three. The hulk was a short distance away being overwhelmed. _I'm not going to die like this, _Natasha thought and leaped for the nearest Chitauri with a knife. She'd ran out of ammo a long time ago. But then, something strange happened.

Tony swore and shielded his eyes as a brilliant blue-white light engulfed the battlefield. Clint fell back and staggered against Steve who grabbed Natasha by the arm. All of them were knocked off their feet as the blast hit. There was a roaring sound like that of a tornado and the feeling of static in the air. Suddenly the city erupted into mindless inhuman screaming and unmistakable scent of burnt flesh assaulted them like a ton of bricks. Tony's first thought was that it was some kind of nuke, and that the suit had protected him. Worriedly, he rolled over to see the light had vanished as quickly as it had come, and that Steve was already back on his feet. Looking around, the ground was littered with dead, burnt Chitauri. All around, civilians stopped their running and looked around in a panic. Only the Chitauri had been killed.

"The Tesseract." Bruce croaked as he forced himself back into his usual form. "Loki must have done this, I can't imagine what else could." Tony and the others nodded in agreement and could do nothing but stand there in shock. Even Natasha's lips were parted in disbelief as she curiously nudged a singed corpse with her foot.

* * *

In the basement of Stark Industries, Pepper paced restlessly. Even in the vault she could hear the sounds of the battle above, and the feel the ground shake when there was an explosion. She had the worst feeling she was going to be trapped. But she had to trust Tony. He wouldn't leave her there to die, she knew that. Nervously, she pulled at a strand of her reddish hair and sat on her briefcase. The momentary peace was short lived, however. A nasty, scaly creature like the one that had tried to attack her on the staircase materialized in front of her.

Without thinking, Pepper scrambled to her feet and held the briefcase in front of her like a shield just in time for the Chitauri to bury a blade in it instead of her. She stared the reptilian monster down like a cornered lioness and held the briefcase in front of her. In desperation, she lunged , meaning to use the briefcase as a weapon as the Chitauri made another attempt to stab her. But neither attack hit, and pepper was blown off her feet by a surge of blinding light. Gasping, she dragged herself to her feet and smoothed her hair that frizzed like someone had rubbed it with a balloon. The Chitauri was dead and reeked of burnt meat. She wrinkled her nose in disgust, and got to her feet just as she heard Tony calling her name as he ran heavily down the stairs. She'd never been happier to hear his voice, but she sincerely hoped he wouldn't try to play the hero and get back together again. This was the whole damn reason they'd broken up in the first place.

* * *

On the helicarrier deck, Loki searched frantically for Robin. In the spot where he'd left her, he found one of the little plastic clips she used to hold her hair back, but nothing else. He swore angrily and followed Fury to go inside the Helicarrier to look for her, and the Tesseract. As he and Fury reached the threshold, a horrid searing pain erupted in his chest. Loki grunted and fell to his knees. Fury, noticing something was wrong tried to get through to him. For a moment it felt like something inside of him broke and was burned away, and then it was over. He was kneeling on all fours panting, but something felt different. He saw and felt the world around him with stark clarity. His heart felt lighter, like something vile had been burnt away. And then he knew, the last of Thanos hold that he had been suppressing with his magic but never truly able to erase, had finally gone. The mad titan was dead, truly dead.

"What the – HOLY FUCK!" Fury swore and fell to the ground beside Loki. Loki looked up in time to see the city engulfed in a brilliant blue-white light that faded and fizzled out as quickly as it had erupted. The battle was over. But how?

"The Tesseract. It destroyed the Chitauri. Even Thanos." Loki whispered hoarsely.

"But how the shit…" Fury shook his head. He hated it, but he had to take the God's word for it. Anything else would mean that New York just got hit by some kind of epic alien nuke, and he might as well audition for an I am Legend sequel. Yeah, he didn't want to think about that.

"Robin!" Loki gasped and got to his feet, bolting inside of the helicarrier. An image had filled his mind, sent to him by the Tesseract of her lying on the floor in a cargo hold with it in her hands. He had to get to her before it destroyed her mind! He didn't even want to think about how she had done this, Loki wasn't sure he himself would have been able to manipulate the cube in such a way. When he reached Robin, he tore the cube from her hands and shoved it aside like refuse. Taking her hands in his, he used what little magic he could in such close proximity to the cube, and pulled Robin's consciousness out of the Tesseract and back into her body. She woke with a groan as Fury ran into the room wheezing.

"Loki. What happened? When I touched it…" She mumbled. She reached for his hand again and a powerful surge of pure magic shot through his arm. It felt oddly like a burst of cool air, yet razor sharp. He hissed and pulled his arm away involuntarily. So the Tesseract had awakened the magic within her. Loki had his own experience with that when he first touched it. The effects would be all but gone in a week or so. No harm done, and her mind seemed sound which was what really mattered. "Loki, what was that? What the hell?" She cried and sat up shakily.

"Don't panic. You will be fine," Loki said. "Don't touch anyone, or anything living. That probably would have killed the director here. The Tesseract has temporarily awakened something within you." He continued as he carefully picked up the Tesseract and slipped it into the pocket of his overcoat. Fury eyed it greedily, but he knew what happened to the last person that had actually touched it. Unlike Robin, he wasn't alive anymore.

"Wait? What?" Fury stuttered. Loki just shook his head and pulled Robin to her feet after conjuring a pair of leather gloves around his hands. As long as there was no skin contact, it would be fine. "Take my other hand. Let's go find the others." He said to the Director. Hesitantly, Fury complied.

"What the shit did you do!" Fury howled as his head spun. Regaining his composure, he found that he was standing outside the Stark Industries building facing a bunch of very battered super heroes and two exhausted SHIELD agents.

"Teleported." Loki said blankly as his gaze shifted to Stark and a frazzled looking Pepper Potts. Bruce stood on Tony's other side with a scrap of cloth from a dead Chitauri's armor wrapped around his waist. Oddly enough, it was even purple. Steve was a short distance away addressing the crowd which had now calmed considerably. "Oh right." Loki said mostly to himself and pulled the Tesseract out of his pocket. The others watched curiously as he stood before the large arc reactor in the decimated lobby of the Stark Industries building in full view of the crowd which fell silent in horror at seeing him. But before they could panic, Loki called upon the Tesseract's power and in a blinding flash, electricity was restored to the buildings that weren't demolished. When Loki pulled himself free of the Tesseract, the crowd started cheering. It was an odd feeling. They weren't shouting insults at him, they were praising him, calling him a hero. The avengers all wore triumphant grins and Robin smiled at him warmly.

"Jarvis! How was the vacation, buddy?" Tony half cried into his earpiece with tears in his eyes when the AI greeted him. Loki realized then, Steve must have told the crowd that he had been responsible for destroying the Chitauri. He said this to Fury who was still nearby.

"Let it be. She put her neck on the line for you, she'd probably rather you steal the credit and vindicate yourself than take the limelight. The way I see it, you saved our asses anyway." Fury said with a shrug. Robin who had walked over to them heard the comment and expressed her agreement.

"This way, you just saved the earth as far as they're concerned. No one needs to know. I'd say your debt's been paid in their eyes, probably." She told him, and Fury agreed. The director still wasn't sure what to think of the God, but at least he seemed to be on the right side for now.


	17. The Aftermath

**Notes:** Hey all, I've been working on a story about how Sleipnir came to be that's something of a companion piece to this. The first two chapters are already up. :3

* * *

**Chapter 17: The Aftermath**

* * *

The aftermath of the Chitauri's attack was no less chaotic than the attack itself. But it was a different sort of chaos, in which the people of New York stood strong as they started picking up the pieces. For what it mattered, the death toll was significantly lighter than the last invasion. As was the destruction in general. The avengers had a sneaking suspicion that Bruce might have caused more structural damage the Chitauri's bombs. Not that anyone was pointing any fingers. They were pretty sure they were all going to die in that moment before the Tesseract obliterated the enemy forces.

As for the Tesseract, it was entrusted to Thor who returned to Midgard a few days after the battle. He left almost immediately to see it returned to the vaults in Asgard – with significantly improved security this time around. When he heard what Loki had done, Thor had been overcome with joy and nearly smothered Loki in a crushing embrace. He'd tried to do the same to Robin, but Loki didn't bother to warn him not to touch her. Thor found himself nursing the strangest, and probably the only, electrical burn he'd ever had while Robin apologized profusely. Loki found it all rather amusing, as usual. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. According to the daily scans Bruce ran on her, the electrical current in Robin's body was declining steadily. They figured that in about a week she would be returned to normal, or at least less likely to kill anyone that touched her aside from Loki or Steve.

Loki was a national hero. His face was on the front of every magazine and newspaper in New York. Cell phone photos of him standing before the damaged arc reactor with the Tesseract were all over the internet. He'd become a celebrity overnight, and he wasn't entirely happy about that. What he was happy about, however, was being accepted. Through his long life, Loki had always striven to earn the love and pride of his family, but never succeeded. He was always second best. But not this time. In spite of his past, he was met with smiles, thanks and kind greetings everywhere he went. It was all very overwhelming. Especially the press conferences, he really hated those. But with Stark or Rogers who attended every one of them to look after him, Loki got through it all somehow. The thing that really came as a surprise was the unexpected visit from Fury a week after the attack.

Loki had finally gotten a chance to relax after all the madness. He was laying on the couch playing with Frigga who was growing larger by the day. She no longer fit in the palm of his hand and was incredibly energetic. Robin was sitting across from him on one of the stools for the minibar talking on the phone with one of Stark's public relations people. Apparently Loki and Tony had to be present for _another _live interview on some major news channel. Loki was getting kind of sick of it. Not that he was ungrateful, but he wasn't really sure how to handle all the attention at once. ...Not after centuries of living in the shadows. With a sigh, he sat up on the couch and frowned at Robin. She gave him a sympathetic wink.

"Mr. Laufeyson, if you have a moment Director Fury of SHIELD would like to speak with you in the penthouse lounge." Jarvis spoke, ruining the moment as usual. Loki didn't even bother asking why. With what he knew about Fury, making him wait would probably result in a lot of childish swearing and the Norns only knew what else. He gave Robin a small wave and strode into elevator. In the lounge, he was greeted by Fury, Steve and Tony who were all arranged on the two large couches. Natasha and Clint were also there, arguing over who got Stark's last shot of Vodka. Bruce was near the window looking down at the city, but he turned and smiled at Loki when he entered the room. Thor too was in the lounge, already deep in a bottle of mead, and hadn't yet noticed him.

"You sent for me?" The God asked curiously. He folded his arms across his chest boredly. He was dressed in one of his nicer business suit outfits, mostly to annoy Robin since she couldn't touch him.

"Sure did!" Tony said amiably. "Come sit down Rudolph, we've got a few things to talk about." Warily, Loki sat in the empty space on the couch between Steve and Clint. Natasha was leaning against the arm rest savoring the shot of vodka she'd wheedled out of Clint.

"Well, we've been talking about this for like three days now, and Olaf One-Eye here agrees with us." Tony said and motioned for Fury to continue. Fury ignored Tony's habit of stupid nicknames as a personal policy. He'd never admit that it was because he only got the references about 45% of the time.

"Loki, we would like to talk with you about the Avengers Initiative." Fury said in an eloquent tone that the God honestly had a hard time imagining coming from his mouth after the way he called The Other a "motherfucker".

"Yes? What about it?" Loki asked, raising his eyebrows. He doubted there was much he didn't know about the Avengers at this point. Whether that had been due to his scheming in the past, or reluctantly growing close them in the past two months hardly mattered at this point.

"After a lot of debate, and childish swearing that would impress a reality show host, we've come to an agreement. You've held true to your word to make amends, and you still are doing so even though you've got your powers back. So, we wanted to formally invite you to join the Avengers Initiative. You are free to refuse if you want, of course. And you wouldn't have to stay here if you don't want to. You can go back to Asgard and come when you're needed like Thor if you want." Fury explained.

Loki just stared in disbelief for a moment. At first, he wanted to laugh in Fury's face. Him? An Avenger? Now that was just ironic. But, would that really be so bad? It meant he would be closer to Robin, that he could stay at Stark tower. Never mind that, while it was overwhelming at first, he actually quite liked all the positive attention. He may have been a God, but damn if this wasn't the first time he actually felt like he was being worshiped. Loki recalled Tony's comment about him being a diva and smirked mostly to himself. Oh yes, he was definitely a diva, and maybe this was just what he needed after all. The throne of Asgard would be nice, yes, but Loki knew it would never mean anything in the end. No, Thor could have it whether he wanted it or not.

"I accept." Loki told Fury and the others without a hint of regret in his voice. He wasn't the God of evil, only the God of mischief, lies and chaos. So maybe his pranks got out of hand in the past, but he didn't have to be a villain to cause some mischief. _Oh no, not at all_, he thought looking to Bruce who now stood close to Tony. Getting them together with Robin's help was certain to be hilarious, if not his masterpiece of trickery.

"Glad to have you on board!" Tony shouted. "Beer all around, we _have _to drink to this. I mean, who would have seen this one coming?" Everyone erupted into laughter and proposed a toast to their new team member as Clint and Bruce handed out beer. Loki felt strangely happy, giddy even as Thor and Tony both hugged him at the same time and Fury made a comment about them getting a room. This was what it felt like to be accepted, he understood, what it meant to be a part of something. He always thought he preferred playing the part of the lone wolf clinging to the shadows, but that couldn't be further from the truth. No, he could get used to this in time. Maybe even embrace it.

"I am so proud of you brother!" Thor boomed and ruffled Loki's hair which was getting far too long. He wasn't even in the mood to tell Thor off for being touchy and bothersome. Not even that could ruin his good mood.

* * *

Robin hung up the phone with a sigh. All the public appearances and interviews were driving her batty. And she wasn't even a part of them. All she did was keep track of appointments and shoo Tony out the door after reminding him that scotch was not a suitable breakfast substance – even if one bottle cost more than her car. It felt like she was a babysitter. A very highly paid babysitter. She still didn't feel quite right after touching the Tesseract, though. The strange magical current that it had awoken within her was fading steadily according to Loki and Bruce. But, the things she'd learned haunted her - knowledge about the universe itself that she couldn't even begin to comprehend, let alone put words to. There were other things she started noticing, too.

If she touched something, and focused her attention on it, she would sometimes see a flash of a vision of past events surrounding that object. The first time Robin noticed this was while writing an appointment in Tony's schedule. Sure, she could use Jarvis or the tablet Tony had given her, but Robin preferred physically writing things. She had been twirling a pen she'd borrowed from Bruce in her fingers when a series of images flashed through her mind. First there was Bruce using it to write a series of gibberish equations on his cell floor in Asgard. Then he was using it again, this time doodling absentmindedly in his notebook while he was on the phone in the clinic.

The second time Robin noticed this was when she picked up a spellbook that Loki had left in the living room. He'd shoved a few of them under his jacket before they escaped their cell. The image that sprang into her mind this time was Loki as a child. He was maybe ten years old, reading the book in what she guessed was some kind of palace garden in Asgard. He seemed peaceful, curled up with the book and completely lost in its contents. Until Thor and what could only be a younger version of Sif showed up. Thor plucked the book out of Loki's hands and laughed at him, as Loki snarled and tried to chase him to get it back. Sif giggled and jeered at Loki when he fell in a puddle of mud. Sulking, he ripped the book out of Thor's hands and left them. It showed Robin another vision of an even younger Loki curled up in a woman's lap as she read a passage from the book to him. Loki slowly dozed off and she ruffled his hair affectionately. But the thing that really shocked Robin, was when she heard Frigga's voice for the first time the day after the whole incident.

"_Good morning Lunch." _Robin heard the sound a of what had to be a little girl's voice behind her, yet somehow mostly in her own mind. Curiously, she looked around to see Frigga staring intently at her. Thinking she was hearing things, she turned back to the bagel she was eating. "_Are you a space viking queen yet?" _She heard the voice again and dropped the bagel.

"Did you just... are you _talking_ to me?!" Robin squeaked, eyes wide as she studied the kitten.

"_Of course." _Frigga replied. "_Mommy is a good mate for you. I'm glad I helped." _She purred and rubbed up against Robin's ankle.

"Blow me." Robin whispered and shook her head in disbelief. She wasn't even going to touch that fact that Frigga was obviously calling Loki her mother.

So far, she hadn't mentioned these odd little occurrences to anyone. They'd think she'd gone batshit, that was for sure. She did want to ask Loki about it, but she hardly had more than a few minutes alone with him the way his schedule was. Curiously, she took the TV remote in her hands and focused on it. An image of Loki flipping through the channels with a look of boredom and disgust appeared in her mind. And then there was Pepper in her pajamas, sitting with a bowl of tortillas in her lap watching something about Africa on the History Channel. She must have stayed on this floor in the past. These images were just entirely too mundane and pointless to be a product of her hyperactive imagination. She set the remote down and wandered over to the elevator. She might as well go foraging in the kitchen for something to eat. She kind of wanted something alcoholic, but considering her current state it didn't seem like a good idea in the slightest.

"Jarvis, ground floor please." She said waiting for the doors to open, only to walk straight into Loki who tried to leave.

"Sorry." They said in unison.

"What did Fury want?" Robin asked, deciding to follow Loki back into the sitting room instead. He gave her an odd glance, but smiled.

"It seems I am now part of his super secret boy band." He said humorously as they sat next to each other on sofa. Robin giggled, recalling that being one of Tony's little nicknames for the Avengers.

"That's awesome!" Robin replied as he pulled her closer. She fought an unexplainable urge to resist and relaxed against him. Really, she did have to wonder why her first reaction to physical contact was to shy away. "Does it still hurt to touch me?" She asked, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I can feel a tingle of magic if I touch your bare skin, but it's not painful anymore. Nor should it harm your mortal friends." Loki replied. "Another maybe two days and it should be gone."

"There's something else, though." Robin said and launched into an explanation of the things she'd been experiencing since handling the Tesseract. Loki was not surprised by it at all.

"You have magic – a lot of it. But mortals do not posses the ability to wield it like the elves and Aesir. They can only sense certain things. It is mostly because, please do not be offended, mortals do not have the mental capacity to comprehend it. These abilities are an affinity you always had, but were not able to sense or use. The Tesseract, and the infinite knowledge contained therein, awakened the understanding within your mind to be capable of this. Unlike the current running through your veins now, this is a permanent change. The fact that you possess this affinity is the only reason the Tesseract did not simply destroy your mind from the overload of information. Mages, even those mortals that can sense magic, have naturally stronger minds than those that do not." Loki told her calmly. She listened intently and wasn't sure if it was a blessing or a curse. These little things could definitely be useful, but the whole thing with touching objects and receiving visions was kind of annoying. She could ignore it easily enough, though.

"Well, that's something else. I have the world's most useless super power." Robin said and rolled her eyes. Loki laughed and ran his fingers through her hair.

"You would be surprised just how useful it can be." He said mischievously.

"You don't have anywhere to be this afternoon unless there's something that didn't make it into my schedule, right?" Robin asked looking at Frigga who was happily rolling around on the floor with a toy mouse in her mouth.

"Not that I am aware of." Loki replied with a shrug.

"Good, we're going out. Just the two of us." Robin declared and detached herself from him.

* * *

An hour later found Robin and Loki sitting on a bench in Central Park sharing an order of french fries. In general, Loki despised fast food. But these he could get used to. Luckily, there hadn't been much damage to the park and it was a beautiful early summer afternoon. The place was mostly deserted, since there was so much work to be done in the city. Which was just fine by them. They sat and just just talked for a while, mostly about complete nonsense and Loki's thoughts on being an Avenger. Surrounded by the bright flowers and the sound of a steady cool breeze that played through her copper tresses, Robin felt more at peace than she had in a long time. Loki's voice as he spoke was soothing and Robin felt herself dozing off against his shoulder. Well, until he moved and pulled her to feet along with him. They walked back through the park holding hands as the sun began to set. Loki stopped at the entrance and watched as a group of workers carried debris from an alley nearby and threw it into a garbage disposal truck. Then he turned back to Robin with a mischievous smile.

"Could I trouble you for a kiss, fair maiden?" He asked both seriously and sarcastically at the same time.

"I suppose it wouldn't be much of a date otherwise." Robin said, blushing. Loki chuckled and cupped her face in his right hand softly. The other hand, he rested on her lower back and pulled her forward lightly. She pressed her hands against his chest and closed her eyes reflexively as he ran his thumb along her lower lip, and very gently pressed his lips to hers. Robin hoped he couldn't hear her heart racing. She felt a few stray locks of his hair tickle her face as he pulled away and opened her eyes. Loki smiled and pulled her into a snug embrace. Robin tentatively touched her lips with her fingertips, still feeling Loki's lingering touch. As far as first kisses went, she had to figure it wasn't bad at all. All right, so she'd gotten shitfaced and made out with Sam's older brother once at some bar, but neither of them really remembered that. ...Or wanted to for that matter. Really though, how had she never kissed anyone before? Had she really been spending that much time working, or with her nose shoved in college textbooks? Yes, she had, of course.

"So, let's talk about Bruce and Tony. Any ideas?" Robin asked as she and Loki walked back to her car holding hands. Somehow the Grand Am had made it through the chaos with only a ruined front quarter panel. She'd fix it herself as usual when she got the time. Though, she had a sneaking suspicion Tony had his eyes on giving her baby a Tony Stark makeover when she saw a set of blueprints he'd left on his workshop counter a few days before the Chitauri nonsense started.

"Oh yes, plenty of them. But we need to observe them first to find out what will have the best effect." Loki answered, grinning wickedly. "Patience, my dear. Patience."

* * *

"All done." Tony said proudly holding up a par of plain silver bracelet fro Bruce to see. "All we need now is for Professor Snape to work his magic. I even built in a switch that will disable the circuitry, so you can let the other other guy out without having to take them off. The size will even automatically expand to fit you so it'll be pretty damn hard to break or lose them. Though if you do I can just replace it." The genius explained as Bruce looked over the deceptively simple pieces of jewelry. Carefully, Bruce popped open the outer casing to look at the intricate inner workings. He could see where there were grooves in the casing, and the circuitry itself, to allow it expand to fit the hulk. It was pretty incredible. Tony might be an ass, but he was definitely one of, if not the best engineer in the world.

"This is amazing, Tony." Bruce said and handed them back over. "Now you just need make a couple extra in case Loki has a problem enchanting them. Oh God, did I just say 'enchanting'? Please kill me." He added and laughed quietly.

"I know, right? We're like the last people on earth to believe in goddamn fairy magic. ...Yet here we are." Tony replied flippantly. Bruce raised his eyebrows and sat in the unused chair next to Tony.

"I see you finally bought me a chair." The doctor noted with a slight smile.

"Yeah, I felt like a dick making you sit on a crate or whatever all the time." Tony replied after a while. "So. Any lucky lady in particular you've got your eyes on once we get these puppies working?" He asked. Bruce shrugged nonchalantly and watched as Tony started gathering materials to start making a second pair of bracelets.

"Not really. I mean, there'll always be a place in my heart for Betty, but I don't think that's going to happen. Ever. Besides, I think she's engaged. It's been a long time since we've talked at all. Maybe it's better that way." Bruce told Tony and got up to help him get the parts in one of the other cabinets.

"I know what you mean. I feel that way about Pepper a lot. I love her more than anything, but I know I'm not right for her. She deserves so much better and I... I just want her to be happy, really. And I know that I can't be the one to give her that." Tony said somewhat hesitantly. "It doesn't make it easier, though. And I need to stop talking about her or I'm going to _literally_ drown myself in tequila." Bruce bit back a snort of laughter. He knew all too well how often Tony hit the bottle after Pepper had been visiting. He'd just assumed that it was the other way around and that the playboy had wanted her back, only to be constantly rejected. If he was being honest with himself, Bruce would have to admit that this was the single most selfless thing the genius had said since they'd met. He knew Tony was actually a very kind person under all the baggage and sarcastic remarks. It was just that he very rarely let that show.

"Do you have anxiety attacks like that one you had in Asgard often? I don't want to pry, but you could really hurt yourself if you're alone somewhere." Bruce asked worriedly. He hadn't thought much about it until now, actually. But it had been sudden and seemingly had no provocation considering the shit they went through on a daily basis working for SHIELD or the Avengers. Tony heaved a sigh.

"I guess I owe it to you. I should tell you that whole story." He said, turning to Bruce and flopping down in his chair. Bruce followed suit and sat down as well after placing a pile of precision tools on the work bench. "You know what this is for." He said, tapping his knuckles lightly against the miniaturized arc reactor in his chest.

"To keep the shrapnel out of your heart. Yes, you told me that while we were working together to find the Tesseract after Loki stole it." Bruce replied uncertainly.

"Yeah, but I never told you how it got in there. Obediah, the guy who used to be a like a father to me, paid a bunch of terrorists in Afghanistan to abduct and kill me. All the while he was selling Stark Industries weapons to them under the table. Long story short, I got blown up by one of my own creations and they took me as a prisoner instead. Another prisoner of theirs, Yinsen, saved my life when he hooked me up to a damn car battery to keep the shrapnel in place. They wanted me to build a weapon for them – the Jericho missile. You might remember that one." Tony explained, fidgeting in his chair slightly. Bruce whistled and nodded. Thank God they obviously didn't get their hands on that.

"Anyway, I refused to build them jack shit and they tortured me until I caved. I didn't really. I just told them what they wanted to hear. Anything to make it stop. I knew they were going to kill me either way – whether I built the missile or not. Instead, I built the first arc reactor with Yinsen's help. And the first Iron Man suit, since they were too stupid to realize that we were screwing them with their pants on until it was too late. Yinsen wound up getting killed in the escape. But I made it out. He made me promise with his dying breath not to waste the life he saved. That's why I don't make weapons anymore, and why I fight for the Avengers even if I think I'm still not technically one of you. Probably not, Fury's a dick like that." When Tony finally stopped talking the silence in the workshop was like a tangible thing.

"Damn." Was all Bruce said shaking his head. "I guess that little battery of yours is more than just life support, huh?"

"You got that right." Tony said, staring ahead with a vacant expression. "But being stuck in that cave, never knowing when some crazy ass terrorist was going to barge in and shove a machine gun in my face, or whatever else, really fucked with my head. Like I said in Asgard – I don't deal well with being in captivity."

"I can't blame you for that, Tony." Bruce said after a while. "I also won't tell anyone all this if you don't want me to."

"I would appreciate that." Tony replied and went back to sorting the parts for the next set of bracelets. Tony worked in silence for a while, the job proving to be a great catharsis for his pent up stress. He didn't even mind Bruce mutely watching him. Tony never cared for having people in his workshop, but Bruce's company was somehow comfortable and more than welcome.

"Jarvis, tell Reindeer Games to get down here and do his thing." Tony said to the AI. "At least we can have him give one set a go while I work on the next one." He added to Bruce who agreed.

"Impossible, sir. Mr. Laufeyson is not in the building. He and Miss Sheffield left earlier." The AI replied.

"Oh, on a date I wonder?" Tony said mostly to himself. Bruce shook his head and pulled out his tablet to see if he had any new emails. There weren't any, and as he was putting it away, he and Tony both received a text. As if on auto-pilot, both of them reached for their phones and read Clint's message:

"LOL guys, look up the most recent posts of Loki on tumblr. Looks like Steve and I owe Tony some money." Tony read aloud. Tony and Bruce shared an awkward glance. SHIELD had been keeping an eye on the media to see how people were reacting to Loki.

"Jarvis, show me the most recent tumblr posts using 'Loki' as a tag, please." Tony said worriedly and let out a small whistle when the HUD brought up a hologram of the website.

"Well, slap my ass and call me sally." Tony said with a snort. "Steve owes me ten bucks and Clint owes me fifty. I _knew _she'd give in eventually." On the hologram screen in front of them was a surprisingly high quality photo of Loki kissing Robin at the entrance to central park. Tony may or may not have been a little jealous, he couldn't remember the last time someone kissed him like their life depended on it. Or at least it looked that way in the picture. Either way, it was a really nice photo. Loki and Robin were both dressed in casual business suits, Robin with a skirt and boots with stiletto heels. Something about the photo was just adorable. Tony told Jarvis to save and print it. He just couldn't resist.

* * *

Loki and Robin arrived back at Stark Tower in time for dinner. "Pizza with buffalo wings", as Jarvis informed them when they arrived. Robin tried not to laugh when Loki asked what breed of buffalo had wings. Quickly, they made their way to the lounge in Tony's penthouse before he ate all the pizza by himself. Steve and Bruce were also there with a slice of pizza halfway to their mouths when they entered. It was as if someone had hit the pause button, and then suddenly all three men broke out into hysterical laughter. Loki and Robin made uneasy eye contact. Loki didn't have much patience for it, and just went and took a slice of pizza. Robin wondered if her hair looked bad or something when she took her own slice.

"So, what's so funny?" Robin got the nerve to ask when the laughter started dying down.

"Jarvis, bring that photo back up." Tony said, snapping his fingers. The AI complied and a hologram screen brought up the photo of Robin and Loki kissing at Central park. Robin made an awkward squeaking sound and covered her mouth with her hand. Loki blinked in surprise at first, but then he gave Steve a knowing smile.

"I believe you owe Mr. Stark ten dollars." He said winking suggestively. He had heard Steve make a bet with Tony that he was wrong about Robin and Loki the night before the attack. Steve had made the comment while the God waited for the elevator to open once he'd finally gotten tired of their melodramatics. Shamefaced, Steve handed Tony a ten which he accepted grinning triumphantly. Robin just muttered under her breath and decided she didn't want to know.

"By the way, babe. That is so getting professionally printed and custom framed. Turns out the guy that took it was part of a news crew. I threw some cash his way for the high res version of it. I'm thinking we should hang it on the wall in your living room, hmm? Maybe I'll get another copy made to put in the Stark Industries lobby since all the girls that work there have a raging crush on him since he saved the world." Robin rolled her eyes and pretended not to care.

"By the way, Miss Sheffied, it is advised that you amend your schedule to include yourself in the CNN interview tomorrow morning." Jarvis cut in unexpectedly. Robin groaned and glared at Tony. That was it, he was officially on her shit list.


	18. Yours

**Notes:** This chapter is long as hell, sorry! (Or I'm not sorry because I'm pretty proud of this, lol.)

**Warning:** Sexy times ahead! It's a bit toned down for FF, but you can find the full explicit version on my Archive of our Own page under the username Elrond.

* * *

**Chapter 18: Yours**

* * *

Robin wanted to kill Tony in the most creative way possible. She wished she he had half of Loki's wit when it came to empty death threats because damn if she wouldn't give anything to metaphorically strangle Stark with his own entrails. She just didn't like being the center of attention, and her social skills (or lack thereof) left quite a lot to be desired. She knew she was going to make a mess of this stupid interview, if she even survived the damned thing. The best she could do was let Steve and Loki do most of the talking. Robin knew Loki handled these things surprisingly well considering his natural charisma. The same could be said for Steve even though it was an entirely different type of charisma in his case. Still, she could only imagine what they would want her to talk about, and having Mr. Good Christian virgin there was probably just going to make it worse. That stupid picture being literally all over the internet hadn't helped much either. At least the general response to it all was that they made a cute couple, even if there were a few jealous fangirls that wanted her guts for garters. Robin cursed under her breath and rolled over wishing she could make the morning sunlight vanish through sheer willpower.

Eventually, she dragged herself out of bed and spent the better part of an hour trying to make her unruly ginger curls look decent. It was a losing battle as always. In the end she just left it down and got dressed. She kind of wanted to find the rattiest jeans she owned and that ACDC t-shirt with the holes in it to wear for shits and giggles. She didn't of course. Instead she wore a forest green hounds tooth blazer with a matching skirt and a pair of plain black heels. Green always looked good on her, almost as good as it looked on Loki. Swallowing her dread, she wandered up to the penthouse lounge to have breakfast with the guys. Loki was already gone, so she assumed he was up there waiting for her.

After shoving a cranberry muffin in her mouth, Robin very nearly had to be bodily dragged to Steve's car. Well, a red convertible that actually belonged to Tony, but whatever. At least riding to what was surely going to be her execution in the back seat next to Loki with the top down somewhat made up for the torment she was going to have to endure. Well, as long as she tried to ignore Steve's outfit. He might be older than dirt technically speaking, but he didn't need to dress like it was still 1940. Seriously, he looked like a wannabe hipster. All he needed was an iPhone and a reserved seat in Starbucks.

Once at the TV station, they were led into a studio by the news anchor doing the interview. She was a bubbly, overly cheerful woman who really looked like she could do with a proper meal. Robin would have been willing to bet she could see her ribs under her ugly pink blazer. She really failed to see why starving oneself was considered beautiful. Though, honestly the woman reminded her of that annoying teenager in Macy's the day they went shopping. She even had the same bleach-blonde hair and too much makeup. Well, if this was her mother (which it probably wasn't) it might explain a few things.

"It's great to meet you guys! I'm Cindy Collins, and I'll be the one interviewing you today." She said as she motioned for them to sit on a huge red plush couch in the studio. Robin sat in the middle between Steve and Loki. She was somewhat gratified to see that both men were already annoyed by Cindy as well, judging by their expressions. Steve had a bit of a twitch and Loki just looked bored. Robin knew Loki enough to know that 'bored' meant 'hide the knives because he's going to stab you'. This was not going to end well.

"We'll be going live in about five minutes, so sit tight." Cindy said excitedly. Those five minutes felt like five years. Robin hoped to God her mother wasn't watching this. She hadn't talked to her in a month because of being so busy. She was going to kill her for this one. Oh whatever, at least Robin's income was still paying the rent. She'd just have to remind her that beggars can't be choosers.

"And we're live!" Cindy said breaking the tense silence. "Good morning New York! This is Cindy Collins here today with a few very special guests. You all know Steve Rogers, our beloved Captain America by now." She added with an exaggerated wave to Steve.

"Good morning, Cindy." Steve said amiably with a pretty damn convincing fake smile.

"And Loki Laufeyson, the hero of the hour! There's a rumor going around that you've officially joined the Avengers, is that true?" Cindy inquired girlishly.

"Indeed it is." Loki said blankly. "It was definitely unexpected."

"I'll bet!" Cindy giggled. "And of course, many of you probably recognize this young woman from a certain photo that's gone viral on the internet recently. Please allow me to introduce Miss Robin Sheffield. You work for Tony Stark, correct? What is it you do exactly?"

"I am the financial manager for Stark Tower officially, but I am also Mr. Stark's personal assistant and secretary." Robin answered trying futilely to hide her nerves.

"So Robin, allow me to ask the question everyone is dying to know the answer to – are you romantically involved with Loki?" Cindy said, grinning excitedly.

"Relatively speaking, yes. But only as of the day before the invasion." Robin said awkwardly.

"How exciting! And how did you meet?" Robin hesitated for a moment, and thankfully Loki answered in her place.

"We met almost two months ago at High Point State park in New Jersey." Loki explained, and went on to talk about his banishment and how Robin had helped him atone for his previous crimes. He even went as far as saying that Robin that had brought new meaning into his life and that he could not have done it without her. She meant the world to him, etc, etc… It was sappy, overplayed and sure to please the audience – because Loki was damn good at that. But Robin was curious, because she could tell that he honestly meant every word. Blushing furiously, she agreed that he meant a great deal to her as well. It was true, of course, but she'd have rather not said such sentimental things in front of other people. Still, it wouldn't do to have her look like an unappreciative bitch after he spewed all that adorable nonsense.

"Sorry to leave you out of the discussion here, Captain!" Cindy said to Steve who was looking bored out of his mind when she finally decided to change the subject. "According to a correspondence from Tony Stark, you have an announcement to make regarding Stark Tower." Robin raised her eyebrows curiously, Loki also gave Steve a questioning glance.

"That I do, Miss Collins!" Steve explained and gave her another winning smile. "As of today, Stark Tower will no longer be Mr. Stark's private residence, but the permanent home of the Avengers as well. It will be officially renamed Avenger's Tower. The decision was partly influenced by all of us staying there while Loki was working to make his amends. The reality of it was that we all pretty much live there anyway, so we might as well make it official." Steve explained, winking at Loki and Robin.

"I do so _love_ it when Tony makes sure to keep me updated on important decisions like this." Robin said with heavy sarcasm and a scowl. Both Loki and Steve let out a short bark of laughter and Cindy fell into fake hysterics.

"Well everyone, I'm afraid we're out of time. It was lovely having you here today, please allow me to thank you again." Cindy said in that annoying girly voice. All Robin heard was beautiful word vomit telling her it was over. And then she officially put Loki back on her shit list when he leaned over and kissed her like the day before. Of course, the cameras were still rolling. She could almost see Steve making a face and rolling his eyes in disgust. She wanted to be angry, she really did because that was fucking embarrassing. But somehow, it just made her feel like she was melting inside.

"I hate you." Robin muttered to Loki once why were safely out of earshot of any reporters and back in the car.

"You are a bad liar. You liked that." He purred and gave her a suggestive wink.

"All right a little. But that was a bit much. That shit is going to be all over youtube." Robin muttered. Steve pointedly ignored them both as expected. "Ok, forget it. How about we talk about getting our secret evil plot in motion?" She snapped, desperate to change the subject. Loki made a show of running his fingers though his hair seductively. She ignored him.

"Secret evil plot?" Steve asked, glancing at Loki in his rear view mirror as his resistance finally cracked. He could ignore them so long.

"It's not really evil, but you probably don't want to know." Robin told him.

"We're scheming some way to hook Banner up with Stark." Loki answered at the same time and Robin called him an idiot under her breath. "You are welcome to help if you would like."

"That... Might not actually be a bad idea. At least I won't have to worry about walking in on them in the middle of something I'd rather not see. Bruce wouldn't allow that. Ever." Steve replied thoughtfully. "I don't think either of them are interested in men, though. And Tony will never get over Pepper." The response kind of surprised Robin, she had assumed Steve would probably be homophobic considering his usual reaction to anything mildly sexual.

"So, any ideas how to make it happen? I've got a few but they're all wildly inappropriate." Robin said as she watched people rushing by on the sidewalk nearby while they waited at a traffic light.

"Not really, but I guess I can give you hand if promise not to do anything too idiotic." Steve answered after a pause. "But it's only because I'm sick of going to the kitchen at night and walking in on Tony christening the kitchen counter with some woman he dragged from a sleazy bar somewhere. ...And then trying _not _to think about it while I'm making my lunch on the same counter."

"Urgh. Thanks for the tip. No midnight snacks, ever. Also not touching the counter without a can of disinfectant handy ever again." Robin complained and was met with mutual agreement from both Loki and Steve. "All right, Loki, I'm leaving the scheming to you. Let me know if you need input."

* * *

Shortly after Robin and Loki left with Steve for the interview, Bruce and Tony decided to give Mark I of the Hulk suppressing bracelets a test run. Bruce had been wearing them since the previous afternoon with no adverse side effects. Loki was relatively certain that any problems with the strength of the enchantment would present themselves within six hours. Usually fatigue or headaches were the first sign, but Bruce hadn't had any issues yet. So, they decided to head straight into phase two of the testing without Loki. He neither needed nor wanted to be there, but they couldn't blame him. Surviving a beating from the hulk was sure to leave mental scars.

For this Bruce would be using the cell in the basement of Stark Tower. Tony had built it just for him, in case he lost control and needed a safe place to let it run its course. It was the same place they'd tossed Loki when he first arrived. It was also 100% hulk-proof since they'd done extensive testing just to be sure. Somewhat nervously, Bruce explained the plan to Tony while he had Jarvis run a quick diagnostics check on the cell locks in case Loki had tampered with them while he was in there. They wouldn't hold it against him now, obviously, but they couldn't risk the hulk going on a rampage either.

"Since I can easily control the hulk and change at will, we need to focus on the transformations I can't control." Bruce told him, placing a small box on the table next to Tony.

"I can get you a hooker if you like?" Tony asked distractedly.

"No, no. We don't need to do anything like that. I prepared a few I injections that should work. Basically the medication should increase my adrenaline and heart rate – which should trigger a transformation." Bruce told him, opening the box and holding up a small vial of clear liquid. The box was packed with five different vials and a small bag of syringes and alcohol pads. "These are all varying strengths in regards to the effect they'll have. ...Since these bracelets need to suppress the hulk entirely. The effects should last about five minutes, then we can move on to the next one if it works. If these things can keep the other guy under wraps under the highest stress level, I'll call it a success."

"Jesus Christ, did you sleep last night?" Tony asked with a snort. "Sounds good enough to me. Everything's secure here. So we don't have to worry about the other guy breaking my tower. ...Or my beautiful face."

"I don't sleep much, you know that. All right, let's do this. We'll have to do the injections out here in case the hulk breaks loose and the serums get destroyed. Just be prepared to shove me through that door and get it locked behind me." Bruce said and began measuring out the first dosage.

"Should I get a suit?" Tony asked seriously, positioning himself to be able to shove Bruce forward into the cell and hit the airlock button simultaneously.

"I don't think so. This shouldn't affect me quickly enough to keep me from just being able to walk in there myself." Bruce said somewhat uncertainly. Tony tensed as Bruce injected himself with the first dosage. As he'd said, Bruce was able to enter the cell himself. He tried to even his breathing as his heart rate increased and he heard the air locks slide into place behind him. Then, he felt it – the other guy coming to the surface. He knelt on the floor, preparing for the pain he knew would come as his breath caught in his throat.

"You all right in there, Brucey?" Tony's voice came from the speakers. Bruce only grunted as the transformation started. _Well, so much for Mark I,_ He thought to himself. It shouldn't surprise him, really. He was a scientist. Scientists know that pretty much nothing ever works the first time around. But this wasn't science, it was magic they were playing with this time. But sometimes things _do_ work the first time around. Just as his muscles began straining and a slightly greenish hue tinted the skin on his hands, Bruce felt a mild electrical shock from the bracelets. It wasn't painful, no more so than static electricity. The green tint immediately vanished from his skin and his mind was suddenly clear again. His heart was still racing, and his breathing was erratic, but he was himself. Curiously, he sat back on his rump and examined the bracelets. They vibrated slightly from the force of the electrical current running through them and seemed to glow slightly. It was working. He could hardly believe it. It was actually _working._

"Tony! Tony! Oh my God it's working!" Bruce exclaimed and got to his feet. "This is incredible. There are no words..." He barely heard Tony's triumphant shout over the speakers while he lost himself in his thoughts as he waited for the medicine's effect to wear off.

They immediately tested the higher dosages, each time getting the same result. Bruce was absolutely beside himself as he finally clicked the switches into place to test the bracelets' ability to re-size themselves when the circuit was broken. Loki had said that it should work, because the enchantment wouldn't do anything without the circuitry to draw the current in. This also went very well, the bracelets expanded to fit the hulk easily, and automatically shrank to fit Bruce when he returned to normal.

"Say it, Brucey. I'm a genius." Tony drawled as Bruce finally left the cell after the testing was a complete success.

"You are a genius. You are THE genius." Bruce conceded and hugged Tony the second he stepped outside. Tony laughed and patted him on the back. "I owe you my firstborn and a kidney or something, don't I?"

"Nah, thanking me will do just fine. Also, no more tip-toeing big guy. It's about time you learned to strut. I can't take all the credit anyway, Loki has to get at least 12% of it." Tony said, cracking a smile.

"I suppose an argument can be made for 15%." Bruce replied with a wink. Tony just shook his head and went for the elevator, motioning for Bruce to follow.

They spent the rest of the afternoon in the penthouse lounge with a good bottle of scotch and a pepperoni pizza they had delivered. Halfway through the scotch, they decided to have Jarvis find them a video of the morning's news interview. Bruce almost choked on his pizza when Steve made the announcement about the renaming of Stark Tower, and actually _did _choke on it when Loki kissed Robin. It wasn't so much the kiss, but the look on Steve's face that made it hilarious. Tony was beside himself in a fit of drunken giggling when Jarvis finally announced their arrival. They decided to leave them alone for the time being, they were half drunk and there'd be plenty of time to harass Robin Hood and Reindeer Games tomorrow.

* * *

Loki had to admit, he was kind of starting to hate these pointless public appearances. At least the hype over him turning over a new leaf seemed to be finally calming down somewhat. Back at _Avenger's _tower, he found himself rather bored. He knelt on the floor teasing Frigga with a shoelace while Robin, once again, was on the phone. She hadn't caught a break since they'd gotten home; the bank and zoning office were already jumping on her about what needed to be done for Avengers Tower. Loki made it a point to mildly harass her. Occasionally he'd sneak up behind her and run his fingers through her hair or wrap his arms around her waist. One time he even nibbled on her earlobe. Resolutely, she ignored him and shrugged off his touches. Loki knew what he was doing though, and could see her slowly getting annoyed with him and aroused at the same time. He could do this all day, it was actually rather entertaining to see the way she reacted to him. Around sunset, Robin finally hung up the phone and dropped her head against the bar counter with a groan.

"So tired. Fucking Tony. This could have been done ages ago and I wouldn't have had to scramble to get it all done at once. Damn it." She complained as she stood up from the stool and stretched stiffly. Sitting on a bar stool for six hours negotiating with money-grubbing bureaucrats was not how she wanted to spend her afternoon. Gods her back was sore. Muttering to herself, she began walking to her room fully intent on popping some pain pills and taking a shower as hot as she could physically stand.

"I know something that could make it feel much better." Loki purred lecherously as she walked by the couch. The way she hesitated and glared at him was adorable.

"I have a headache." Robin said dully.

"That is the worst excuse not to have sex. Did you know having an orgasm will get rid of a headache?" He said, feigning nonchalance.

"No, I have never been particularly inclined to masturbate with a headache." Robin replied tartly. "Now, if you will excuse me, I need some Advil and a shower."

"You choose poison over intercourse. Sad." Loki said with an obnoxious sigh. "You are not _still _angry with me for earlier, are you?"

"No, I wasn't at all. But I'm also not touching the fifteen texts my mother sent me until tomorrow, or whenever I grow the balls to do it. Yeah, nope. So yeah. Pain pills and a shower. I have a migraine coming on and my back feels like I've been sleeping on the floor for in cave for a month." Robin griped and pulled open the door to her room.

"Would you at _least _let me assist with that? I am rather good at giving massages." Loki whined without bothering to turn around. He'd lost and he knew it.

"All right fine, if you'll leave me alone." She growled. Or maybe he hadn't lost yet. Indulging in a victorious grin, he threw his blazer on the back of the couch and followed her into her room.

It took no small amount of begging and wheedling to get Robin out of her clothes. While digging in the bathroom closet for lotion, or better yet massage oils, he realized he'd _never _had that hard of a time getting someone to undress for any reason – be they male or female. Shaking his head, Loki was forced to settle for a bottle of lavender body lotion that smelled more like cheap perfume than lavender. He had half a mind to go ask Stark for massage oils, surely he had them considering his obvious sexual addiction. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that Robin would probably be angry and he didn't want to try his luck. But, it would be _so _worth it to see the look on Rogers' face if he was there. He found Robin rolled up in a cocoon of blankets when he walked back into the room.

"Well, now that is not going to work." He told her and got her to roll over onto her stomach with the blankets wrapped around her waist. He sat down on the bed beside her and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. She tensed and shied away slightly when he carefully pulled her hair of the way.

"Why do you dislike being touched so much?" Loki asked curiously. "I am not going to hurt you. Or, most unfortunately, do much of anything without your express permission."

"I don't know. I don't mind being touched, but don't forget that I spent eleven years being beaten regularly. I trust you, but I'm also _used_ to being hurt. It's probably a defense mechanism." Robin explained, glad for the fact that her face was mostly buried in one of her pillows so she didn't have to look at him. She hated thinking about her past, let alone talking about it.

"Just try to relax." He told her, having the tact to know that it was probably something she really didn't want to discuss. And in a way, maybe that was better. Her past belonged where it was – in the past. Preferably dead and buried like the man that had caused her so much pain. ...That was where his past belonged too. Loki knew when he agreed to join the Avengers that there would be no turning back. He had gotten far more than a second chance – he'd gotten a new beginning and the opportunity to choose his own fate. He would not let it go to waste.

Gently, he caressed her shoulders that were lightly dusted with freckles just like her face. If he ever doubted that she'd been abused, he would never be able to now. There were countless small scars on her skin. There wasn't anything like the nasty one on her forearm, in reality Loki felt them more than saw them. But the fact that they were even there was enough to make him angry that she had been treated in that way. At least her initial reaction to being touched was short lived and she relaxed quickly. There was no longer any trace of the Tesseract's energy within her, but her skin still felt hot against his palms, even in his Aesir form. He licked his lips and desperately chased the image of her naked body pressed against his out of his mind. He wasn't going to get away with that just yet, unfortunately. Well, maybe not. The night wasn't over yet.

Robin bit her tongue to suppress a pathetic whimper. She couldn't deny that it felt good. If anything, she was slowly turning into a pile of non-responsive mush as Loki expertly worked the tension out her back and shoulders. His hands being slightly cold as they always were didn't bother her in the slightest. Robin sighed contentedly, noticing that the pain in her back had completely vanished by that point. She didn't say anything, though. She didn't want him to stop, _ever_. She would have dozed off if it weren't for the dull throbbing of her headache. If anything, it was probably caused by eyestrain from trying to read zoning contracts on her tablet and answer emails with her phone at the same time. Damn Tony and his damn diva tendencies.

"Are you sure you will not allow me to do anything else, hmm?" Loki whispered seductively and leaned down to softly kiss the back of her neck. Robin shivered, surprised by the contact, but did not pull away like before. That was a good sign, Loki assumed. When she didn't answer, he slid his hand under the edge of the blanket to rest it on her hip and sucked at the spot he'd kissed. He almost didn't hear the way her breath hitched slightly, but he definitely noticed the way she leaned into his touch.

"I... All right, fine. Just God please don't stop touching me." She murmured and rolled over onto her back. She wanted to kick herself, really. It was like she was drunk or something and just could not get enough of the way his hands trailed across her skin. It had to be like some kind of a drug, or maybe he'd cast a spell on her, because she wanted _more, _and God help them both if she didn't get it.

Their eyes met and Loki gave her his best shit eating grin before claiming her lips. It wasn't soft and fleeting like their other kisses, it was heated and just rough enough to excite him. Loki didn't even try to bother with his clothes, he teleported them onto the floor with a spell. Robin tangled her fingers in his hair as her lips parted and Loki gratefully accepted the invitation. Robin thought she should feel uneasy or nervous, or_ something_. But the only thing she felt was a mindless need for Loki's touch _everywhere_. When their lips parted, she gasped for breath and arched her back as he pinched a sensitive spot near her collar bone. Robin almost moaned when Loki decided to kiss her throat and nipped at the spot with his teeth. That was going to leave a mark. But she didn't care. It felt so _good_. And what in fuck's sake was wrong with her, anyway? Had she _ever_ been this horny?

"So, which would you prefer?" Loki asked huskily, as he caressed her hair like he was petting Frigga. "These ridiculous rubber tubes Rogers insisted on giving me to prevent any accidental surprises in a few months... Or a spell that will do the exact same thing without any margin for failure." Robin fought the urge to kick him for being able to form a proper sentence, when she couldn't even find her voice.

"Whatever you choose." She breathed and tugged at his hair slightly. _Anything just don't stop._

"Magic it is then." He replied and pressed his right hand over her stomach. Robin thought for a moment that his hands felt warmer than before, like touching her had warmed them up a bit. The magic felt a little strange, but not unpleasant. Kind of like the healing spell he'd used on her shoulder after she'd gotten shot in the bank robbery. Not that she was thinking of that. If anything, her mind was dangerously close to utterly blank when Loki resumed his previous ministrations. He decided he'd had enough with the damn blanket that was somehow _still _wrapped around Robin's waist. He untangled her from it and threw it to the floor. Then he laughed, when he saw what she was wearing under it.

"You planned this." He realized, seeing very familiar obnoxious pink sparkly undergarments. "You naughty little thing." He purred and slid his fingers under the thin straps that sat low on her hips. She smiled knowingly with her lips tightly closed, but didn't say a word. She _had _planned it, maybe not the headache or backache, but in the end she used it to her advantage. If she knew one thing about Loki, it was that 'yes' means 'yes' and 'no' means 'fuck you I do what I want'. It was adorable how he thought he'd been the one in control. And hilarious how easily he'd fallen for a little bit of reverse psychology.

"Oh you really are something else." He murmured and pulled the g-string down a little more roughly than necessary. She giggled as he placed soft butterfly kisses on her stomach. "I'll make you pay for this little trick." He told her erotically as he _finally _got a decent look at her in all her naked glory. The freckles that dusted her face and shoulders were spread sporadically over her entire body, which was something he found that he rather enjoyed as he traced lines between them with his fingers. She was small, which he knew, but not overly skinny like that ostentatious News host from earlier. Robin had a fair amount of muscle from years spent hunting and working in the State Park. But she was not so muscular as to be unattractive; her form still had all the soft angles and curves that a woman should. Whatever the case, he loved the way her frizzy copper hair clung to her flushed face.

Loki was like everything she wasn't. His skin was a creamy ivory, unlike her slightly darker olive toned skin. While she was covered in freckles, being the epitome of a ginger, there was not a single birthmark or blemish on him that she could see. _But of course not, he chose this appearance, _Robin reasoned. He was lean, but not as frail. She could feel the ripple of muscle as she trailed her hands along his abdomen while he fully divested her of the g-string and flicked it away somewhere.

"You seem to be enjoying this." Loki said quietly. She could feel his breath on her lower stomach and made a strangled sound of pleasure. "Oh yes, you certainly are. But what if I stopped, hmm?" He added and sat back, pulling his hands away. Robin blinked and moaned miserably, she was completely beyond the capacity for speech. If she thought she had the will to do it, she would have slapped him.

"Jerk." She finally managed to whisper breathlessly.

"Say please." Loki chastised her. "Where are your manners, love?"

"Fuck you." Robin muttered.

"All you have to do is ask…"

"Fine. …Please?" She hissed and whacked him with a pillow.

"Please, what?" Loki asked, grinning malevolently.

"Finish what you started or I'll do it myself." She growled and glared at him.

"You my dear, are far too coherent." Loki replied and took her lips in another fierce kiss. He allowed her to pull him down on top of her and reveled in the warmth of her limbs tangled with his. When he broke the kiss out of sheer need for air, he decided he'd had enough teasing. "Shall I take you?" Loki asked and licked the slightly red spot on her neck where he'd bitten her before.

"Mm."

"Say please."

"Please." She moaned, not even trying to be witty. Well, Loki didn't need telling twice. Robin gasped and arched her hips into his. Unconsciously, Robin dug her fingernails into his back and sighed. Loki hummed in appreciation; he did always love a bit of pain to contrast with the pleasure. He really enjoyed the little mewling sounds that Robin made when he began to move, slowly at first.

Loki lost track of his pace and just let instinct take over when he was sure Robin was beyond caring and clung to him painfully. He was sure her nails on his back had drawn blood by now, but damn if he cared. He liked to think of marks on his skin left by a lover as trophies of a job well done.

"Loki!" Robin gasped as the world just seemed to shatter around her. In the height of climax, she reached for something – _anything – _solid to hang onto and wound up clinging to Loki like her life depended on it. Exhausted, he flopped down on top of her and gathered her up into his arms.

"You are mine. Only mine." He whispered mostly to himself as he snuggled beside Robin and pulled her into his arms. She did not resist in the slightest and curled up comfortably against him.

"Only yours…" She mumbled, and noticed that the headache was gone. Damn him.


	19. Beauty and the Beast

**Notes:** ...Because Disney and awkward life lessons?

* * *

**Chapter 19: Beauty and the Beast**

* * *

"Jarvis, have Bambi come up here, would you?" Tony said offhandedly while he flicked through news channels in the penthouse lounge. He and Bruce decided they should let Loki have a look at Bruce after he'd been wearing the bracelets for a while to make sure his enchantment was working as smoothly as Tony's design. He could wait until morning, but they were like kids with a new toy and they had to know _now_.

"Mr. Laufeyson is otherwise engaged, Sir. Perhaps you should try in the morning?" The AI replied in his tart British voice. Tony had been sipping at a glass of scotch that wound up on the floor while he laughed hysterically. Bruce raised his eyebrows, trying to figure out what the hell was so funny.

"What?" He asked when Tony finally composed himself.

"Jarvis has a protocol to tell anyone looking for me that I am 'otherwise engaged' when I'm in the middle of a booty call." Tony explained and heaved himself off the couch to get a fresh glass of scotch.

"Wait? What? Loki is allowed to make booty calls?" Bruce both asked and accused at the same time. Tony shrugged as he poured some scotch in a clean glass with some ice.

"He can, and probably will do whatever he wants. He's not on a leash anymore, remember? But my money's on Katniss. I mean, it's obvious how hard he's been trying to get in her pants." The engineer assumed and went back to the couch. He liked this, hanging out all afternoon with Bruce.

"I'm surprised you're not already looking for someone to call over here to make up for the fact that Loki's getting some and you're not." Bruce commented cracking a smile. Tony huffed indignantly and pulled out his phone. "Ah, I knew you would."

"Actually, I'm calling Pepper. I just remembered that I totally forgot about something really important." He replied blankly. "I'm not really in the mood for that, anyway." The reality of it was that the playboy was honestly just stating to get tired of meaningless sex. It wasn't even fun anymore, really. It was just an escape from reality for a little while.

"Hey Peps, sorry I didn't catch you earlier. Happy Birthday! Buy yourself something nice from me, okay?" Tony said when he reached her voicemail. It wasn't like Pepper not to answer. He wondered for a moment if she was 'otherwise engaged' in beautiful birthday sex and suddenly felt very lonely. He wanted her to be happy, he really did. But imagining her with someone else felt like getting hit by a truck. Miserably, he got up and walked over the sliding doors that led to the balcony. "I'm going to go get some fresh air." He muttered to Bruce and went outside. Bruce watched him with a frown, wondering just what it was about Pepper that got under his skin so easily when the genius laughed everything else off like nothing mattered..

Tony walked out to the small landing pad he used for the Iron Man suits and sat there cross-legged. For a while, he just watched the sunset and listened distantly to the sounds of cars rushing by in the city streets below. How easy it would be to just throw himself off of here, but he never was suicidal. It was more fun staying alive to annoy the hell out of everyone around him. He sighed heavily and looked down at his hands that were calloused from his constant tinkering. Pepper had told him a few months ago that he needed to find another outlet – that he spent too much time in his workshop. He knew she was right, he did spend too much time there. But what else was he good for? Creating things, getting drunk and occasionally blowing shit up. Oh, and sex. That's all Tony really knew. The idea of him taking up art or some kind of sport was laughable. He couldn't shake the thought that maybe all he really wanted or needed was a stable relationship.

Yeah, that wouldn't be so bad. He wished he could come home from a long day and cuddle on the couch with some beautiful woman who didn't judge him. Someone that could accept him – all of him. That was the problem with Pepper, really. She wanted, probably still wanted Tony, but nothing else that came along with him. And as much as he loved her, Tony was Tony. He was selfish and egotistical. He was not willing to change himself or give up being Iron Man to be with her. Maybe that had been a mistake, but it meant too much to him. It was a part of him, not just some stupid hobby. It was his way of atoning for his selfishness and the lives lost because of his weapons. Nothing could replace those lost lives. But it made Tony feel a little bit better knowing that he wasn't the same heartless, uncaring bastard that he used to be. ...Even if he still acted that way because he felt safer keeping others at an arm's length. Trust was something that didn't come easily for him after what Obediah had done.

"Are you all right?" Came the voice of a certain concerned doctor behind him. "I'm not a psychologist, but I am a good listener if you want to talk about it."

"Sometimes I really hate myself." Tony replied flatly without turning to look at Bruce. He was glad they'd met, regardless of the original circumstances. Tony wasn't sure how he would have gotten through the past year and a half after he broke up with Pepper without Bruce's friendship. He hadn't even hesitated to offer Bruce a place to stay in his tower when he was having trouble paying the bills on the small apartment he'd decided to rent. Adjusting to living in New York had been difficult for Bruce, who had slowly gotten used to living in some of the worst third world countries to avoid SHIELD and the government. Tony had been happy that he accepted, and made every accommodation that he could. Maybe he was just desperate to have someone to talk to that wasn't an AI with a posh British accent. Pepper had moved out shortly after their break up, not wanting to live with him anymore.

"What makes you say that?" Bruce asked and sat beside him.

"I'm a self-obsessed prick, mostly." Tony said with a shrug.

"I won't argue with that. But you do a lot to help people, too." He said kindly.

"Because I'm selfish. It's all about me, Bruce. I help people because it makes me fell better, not because it's the right thing to do. I do it because I'm just as much of a full-tilt diva as Loki. I thrive on the attention. I want to bask in the adoration. I don't actually care. The only people in the world I give a shit about are you, Steve, Pepper, Natasha and Clint. I kinda care about Thor, he's a good guy – but I wouldn't put my life on the line for his sake. I just don't know him that well. I guess Robin Hood makes the list, she puts up with my BS and hasn't given me a reason to dislike her yet." Tony explained, finally meeting Bruce's eyes. "I don't know how I feel about Loki. I want to hate him; he threw me through a window for fuck's sake. But seeing him lose his shit over a sick kitten and damn near get himself killed trying to save a kid from getting shot, I really have to wonder."

"I don't think Loki is the embodiment of evil like a lot people assumed. He just wound up at a point in his life where he was miserable and ran out of options. He had a shitty family and was living a lie. I can't really fault him. I know how much it hurts to be seen as a monster for something you have no control over." Bruce explained. "So you're selfish. So am I. Do you really think I care that much about the people I help? At the end of the day I don't remember their names, and most likely not their faces. I do it because it makes it easier to convince myself that it'll make up for the things the other guy has done. It won't, I know that. But I still try."

"You know what I want more than anything, Bruce?" Tony said brokenly. "I want to find someone who loves and accepts and me. I need to have a happy, stable relationship. But that won't ever happen. I get bored too easily. I don't want to settle down. I don't want to live a quiet life. It's just like my work. I throw everything aside as soon as something new and exciting comes along. My love life is the same. The longest I ever dated someone before Pepper was a week."

"Have you tried talking to Pepper about getting back together?" Bruce suggested.

"No. I don't want to. Well, yes I do. But I don't deserve her. And she wouldn't be happy unless I gave up being Iron Man, and stopped spending at least nine hours a day in the workshop. She loves me, but not as I am. She wants me to be something I'm not, and I can't do that." Tony explained and leaned over to lie on his back and look up at the few stars he could see. "We were never meant for anything but being close friends. At least that I haven't fucked that up yet."

"I guess all women see when they look at you is dollar signs and a limelight." Bruce commented, looking down at Tony. Tony snorted but didn't say anything. He didn't need to. They both knew the answer to that statement.

"It hurts though, knowing I can't have her. I miss her so much, even though I talk to her constantly and see her every couple days for the most part." The engineer complained.

"I know. Believe me, I understand how that feels." Bruce replied, thinking fondly of Betty and wondering if she was happy, wherever she might be. "Maybe you should get a dog, they love you no matter how drunk you get."

"Oh please, it would starve to death. I'd never remember to feed the poor thing." Tony answered, smiling slightly. "I can't even remember to water my plants. If Steve didn't do it they'd all be dead by now." Bruce chuckled knowingly, yeah Tony probably shouldn't be allowed to have animals. Ever.

"Thanks Bruce. For putting up with my whining."

"Someone has to." The doctor replied with a shrug. "Let's go inside, come one."

* * *

Loki came awake slowly at first, feeling slightly disoriented. In a flash, he remembered where he was and smiled fondly. Robin's sleeping form was curled up snugly against him, her breathing was slow and deep. He closed his eyes and pulled Robin closer, loving the warmth of her body beside his. She didn't stir in the slightest as he kissed her forehead gently. He would give anything not to get out of bed that morning. _Maybe I am doing things right this time,_ Loki thought as he absentmindedly ran his fingers through Robin's hair. He wasn't sure he could ever remember feeling this content.

"Loki?" She mumbled as she woke up. Loki counted it as a good sign that she didn't tense or push him away. She just sighed quietly and nuzzled her face into the spot under his chin. She reminded him of a cat the way she curled herself around him. "Jarvis, what time is it?" She asked lazily.

"It is 9:45 AM. The weather is partly cloudy with a chance of precipitation later in the afternoon." The AI replied.

"We have to get up." She said poking Loki in the ribs. "As much as I would prefer not to."

"Take a personal day." Loki suggested and kissed her lips tenderly. "...Do you like apples?" He asked with a surprisingly serious tone. She raised her eyebrows.

"Yes, why?" Robin answered, snatching his hand out of her hair and holding it lightly.

"No particular reason." He replied with a mischievous grin.

"Jarvis, did we oversleep anything important?" Robin asked as she sat up in bed and stretched. Predictably, she was a little sore but it didn't bother her much. No, not at all. It was totally worth it. She definitely felt like a bit of an idiot for never having done this before.

"I took the liberty of rescheduling your meeting with the zoning board this morning for 10:00 AM on Wednesday of next week." The AI told them. "Also, Mr. Laufeyson is needed in the penthouse lounge when he quote: 'Drags his diva ass out of bed'. It is advised that you dress yourself beforehand." Loki rolled eyes and Robin giggled. Leave it Jarvis to not only be snarky, but somehow kill the mood.

Grumbling, Loki got out of bed to get dressed. He thought of following Robin into the shower, but somehow having the scent of her perfume on him was very satisfying. ...And would probably annoy the others if they noticed. Loki dressed himself in a black suit with a green and gold striped tie. Quickly, he fed Frigga her breakfast and grudgingly told Jarvis to take him to the lounge. When he got there Banner, Stark and Rogers were arguing about something trivial in a newspaper while they had their morning coffee.

"You called for me?" Loki asked, cocking his head the the side questioningly.

"Good morning, Buttercup!" Tony quipped. "We did the test runs on Bruce's new toys yesterday and it was an overwhelming success. We thought you might want to know, and check to make sure your hocus pocus is working the right way."

"Do you feel unusually tired or have a headache?" Loki asked boredly.

"No, I feel fine." Bruce replied cordially.

"Then it's working. As it should." Turning to Tony he added, "My magic is to the Aesir what your engineering is to the mortals. Second to none." Tony bit back a sarcastic comment just to in time to notice that, _holy fucking shit, _Loki just complimented him.

"Sir, please pardon the interruption." Jarvis interjected. "Miss Sheffield would like to inform you that she is taking a personal day. Also, Mr Rogers and Laufeyson should take note that the press conference taking place this afternoon has been rescheduled." Steve raised his eyebrows and Loki chuckled.

"Naughty." The demi-god muttered to himself. _Just what is she planning now? _Loki contemplated as he watched Stark's rather comical reaction. Loki turned around uncomfortably to find three curious pairs of eyes burning a hole into his back. "Do not ask me, I have no idea what she is scheming. Maybe I do, but that was supposed to be _my_ job." Loki said disarmingly, and oddly truthfully. He had been kidding when he told her to take a personal day, he doubted she actually would. He barely noticed the slight twitch at the corner of Steve's mouth. He was hiding a smile, and had guessed as easily as Loki that Robin was up to something concerning Bruce and Tony.

"All right _ladies_ we're going to Broadway to see Beauty and the Beast. Show starts at one." Robin called, closing the door to the stairwell behind her. She took the stairs most of the time, it was good exercise at least. "Yes, Tony, even you. All of us. It'll be fun." She added in a demanding tone and glared at them. Tony may or may not have been impressed by how much that mother hennish stare reminded him of Steve.

"Yeah, no. Since when do you get to make executive decisions?" Tony retorted. He was _not _going to waste his afternoon watching a live action Disney movie. No way in hell.

"It doesn't count as an executive decision if I'm paying." Robin said sweetly. "Ok, so maybe Tony technically is since he pays me. Whatever. Details."

"I have to work at the clinic today, I need to be there by 1:30." Bruce complained. He really wasn't particularly interested in being a theater full of most likely noisy people. He only wanted the quiet and relative safety of his lab.

"Nope, Doris is covering for you." Robin denied him with a cheeky smile. "So, dress nice and we'll all meet in the lobby in a couple hours. Who knows, maybe Loki and Tony can both learn something, hm?" She then positively bounced back down the stairs, leaving the four men in the lounge in a state of total confusion.

"So, _that's _her reaction to losing her virginity?" Tony muttered mutinously. "Let's go see a stupid Disney play instead of using the afternoon to do something, I don't know, _productive. _And oh my stars, I might learn something!" He rolled his eyes and grabbed another bagel from the tray on the table in front of the couch. He picked at the sesame seeds on it before cutting it in half and spreading cream cheese in the middle.

"...What?" Loki asked, frowning. "What are you talking about?"

"You really are an amazing liar, I'll admit. But I actually called for you last night and Jarvis told me you were busy. He'll only say that if you're taking a shit or... getting some action. Considering he suggested to try again in the morning, I think it goes without saying." The engineer grumbled and took a bite of his bagel.

"I think Robin's right; you two might learn something. I'm going to head to the gym for a while before we go." Steve chimed in and got up from the couch. "It's probably a good first step to this crazy plan of yours, too." The super soldier added so that only Loki could hear as he passed. The demi-god smirked and took the seat he vacated. Steve was mostly innocent and naïve about such things, but sometimes he wasn't entirely oblivious and/or prudish. Distractedly, Loki asked Bruce and Tony what the story of Beauty and the Beast was about.

"Something about a prince under a curse. And some kind of magic flower or something. I totally don't remember. I watched that movie years ago when it came out because Pepper wanted to see it. I was too drunk to remember much except for magic talking furniture." Tony explained, taking a drink of his coffee. Bruce really had no idea, but both he and Loki agreed that talking furniture was probably just Tony being drunk.

* * *

Talking furniture had _not _been a product of Stark's drinking habit, Loki realized as he watched the play. The obnoxious vaguely french candlestick reminded him painfully of Thor. But, he realized not far into the story why Robin made him come to watch this nonsense. It was because of the parallels to their own barely functional relationship. Here was the Beast – A proud, handsome prince who was selfish and cruel, reduced to the form of a foul creature. To break the curse, he would have to meet someone who truly loved him. But who could love him? Who could love a beast? After all, his curse was the result and punishment for his own actions. He deserved it, and he hated himself. He was foul and tainted with no hope of redemption. He was utterly alone and miserable in his cursed castle. But even worse, there was a time limit. He only had until the last petal fell from an enchanted rose to learn to love and be loved in return.

Enter Belle, the heroine. She was good-hearted and kind. She could give Rogers a run for his money. She was not afraid of the beast and treated him only with kindness. She gave him the chance he sought, and at first he scorned her as he always scorned the affections of others. Belle treated his wounds when he was attacked by wolves. She taught him to feed little bird from his monstrous paws. She never once was angry with him for keeping her a prisoner. She didn't see the beast, she saw the prince within. She never gave up on him, even through he pushed her away and refused to trust her.

Loki found himself lost in his sympathy for the beast, and his admiration of Belle's strength. He didn't notice taking hold of Robin's hand and holding tightly while the villagers attacked the castle. They would kill the beast. Of course they would. He was a monster and he deserved to die... Just like him. A monster. But the beast wasn't a monster. He was capable of kindness, and he felt sorrow and pain just like anyone else. Loki didn't want to watch anymore. But he had no way of making an escape.

But the beast wasn't murdered. Beautiful, selfless Belle found it in her heart to love him, even with his faults. Just before the last petal of the enchanted rose fell, the curse was broken. The beast was a beast no more and so the story had a happy ending. Loki let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He wanted to punish Robin for making him watch this, yet at the same time he knew why she had. There was nothing she could say that would make him believe her when she told him she understood how he felt about his Jotun heritage, and his punishment for his actions in New York. Instead, she'd found a way to show him. ...And he hated to admit it, but he did learn something.

* * *

Tony was going to kill Robin, really. He had already firmly erased her name from his mental list of people he gives a shit about. This was such a waste of time, and they weren't even allowed to have food in the theater. So much for sneaking in a bottle of scotch. Bruce beside him looked equally bored as he browsed the web on his Starkphone. Steve was sitting in another section to the right of them somewhere with Pepper who'd decided to come along as well. It was probably for his benefit, so he didn't have to sit alone. Robin had _insisted _that Tony and Bruce sit together by themselves. She, of course, was seated two rows ahead of them next to Loki. What this was supposed to prove was beyond him. Bruce heaved a bored sigh as the announcement came on to shut off cellphones. Tony sympathetically patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry, it shouldn't be that hard to get revenge for this." Tony hissed as the lights dimmed. Bruce snorted and shook his head. They watched in silence, occasionally commenting to each other about the crappy special effects until an angry old lady behind them whacked them both with her purse. It hurt. She had to have fucking bricks in there. Forced to be quiet, Tony and Bruce gave up resisting and just watched the stupid play. It didn't take long for the reason they were there to sink in. Robin didn't miss much, did she? Either way, Bruce found himself thinking along the same lines as Loki, and identifying with the Beast. The self hatred, the desire to drive people away to keep them safe – these things described him perfectly. He knew what it felt like to be feared, and hated. Belle, she reminded him of Tony. She wanted to help – she put herself in danger to help. She roamed the castle, respecting the Beast but never fearing him. Just like Tony. Well, she wasn't really like Tony. He doubted the bookish young woman could knock back a whole bottle of Scotch and walk straight while swearing like a sailor. But that wasn't what mattered.

What mattered was the Beast had friends to turn to. He wasn't alone, the castle was filled with his subjects who had been turned into furniture but loved him no less. With help and support, he overcame his insecurities and even learned to love. ...And to be loved. Bruce wondered if he would ever have that. Maybe he already did.

Tony was bored out of his mind. Blah, fairy tales. Blah, magical romantic wet dreams for girls. It was all so sentimental and so over the top. But, the thing was, he understood the message Robin wanted to get across. Though he'd admit it over his dead body. ...Even if he was seriously impressed with her noticing Bruce's little insecurity complex. It was about Loki, yeah, but if it were just him – she wouldn't have made him and Bruce come along too.

* * *

"So boys, what did we learn today? Loki, Bruce, Tony?" Robin inquired sweetly as they sat outside with ice cream later. Pepper had gone back to work at Stark Industries, and Steve apparently had a date with the gym. Again. Loki had never had ice cream before, and his reaction to it was _adorable_. Either way, Robin now knew she could use it as bait to get him to do almost literally anything because he mindlessly loved it. As far as her question was concerned, Loki was the first to speak.

"That what makes something a monster is one's actions, not how they appear. Also, that it is never too late to change one's ways for the better. " He said sheepishly. Tony didn't even notice as a chunk of his ice cream fell to the ground while he stared in disbelief as Loki's honesty. "And I... Am not a monster." He looked at Robin blankly, and she smiled knowingly. She was going to get him to stop hating himself even if it killed her – one day at a time.

"Tony? Bruce? What did you learn?" She asked, licking her vanilla ice cream. The two scientists looked at each other awkwardly.

"That I should get really high so that my furniture starts talking to me? Then I should teach the Hulk how to feed deformed pigeons in central park?" Tony supplied, shrugging. Bruce, unexpectedly, chuckled and shook his head. Tony and Robin both took that as a good sign in their own ways. "Though, seriously, and only because Loki was so honest about it and – Wow. Did I just say that? Loki? Honest? Anyway. Holy shit. I'm not as selfish as I think I am. Being a paranoid asshole is a decidedly bad thing and just hurts the few people I actually care about. I need to trust people more." The silence that followed was incredibly awkward.

"I suppose my lesson is mostly the same as Loki's." Bruce said sheepishly and silently cursed Robin for somehow being so goddamn perceptive. Robin smiled disarmingly, but Loki saw the mischief twinkling in her eyes. She'd only just begun.


End file.
